


Northward

by kianili



Category: Mega Man: Fully Charged (Cartoon)
Genre: Action/Adventure, After s1e52 The Gauntlet Part 2, Aki Light's POV, All family feels, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Headcanon, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Let's just classify it as a straight up alternative universe, Lots of new lore, My First Work in This Fandom, No Romance, On Hiatus, POV First Person, Probably too much tbh, Progressive Character Development, References to Depression, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Hatred, dark themes, original lore, robot gore, series continuation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2020-06-02 08:29:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 46,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19437709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kianili/pseuds/kianili
Summary: The Lights go Northward. (A first-person story based off of TV show Mega Man: Fully Charged.)Young hero Aki Light, Robotics Doctor Thomas Light and Aspiring Genius Suna Light go on an adventure to the northern regions of Alaska in search of an ancient evil to save their home of Silicon Valley. Join Aki as he uncovers ancient truths, old technologies and remembers what it truly means to be a hero on the trek to the North.





	1. "Sense of finality"

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go! My first real longfic attempt since I was 11 years old! I'm still learning story pacing, and most of this isn't beta-read or heavily edited, so it may not be professional-grade. I still hope you enjoy the journey with Aki and his family, and enjoy the new characters and stories/lore I have planned for Northward! I'm very excited about this project, and I hope it's well-received by the tiny MM:FC fandom, and maybe even others!
> 
> The first few chapters ARE a bit short, but as I post more, I plan on making longer chapters for you to enjoy!
> 
> [ 7/10/19 - I have crossposted to Wattpad! If you would like to read the tale there with the music and ambiance, please find me on the website at @kianili ]

My arm ached. It still hurt, but was only a little raw. Like when you skim your elbow on the sidewalk, or bump a table with your hip. It was like the dull aftermath of a minor injury, but the pulsating glare of my circuitry reflecting in the corners of my artificial vision said otherwise. My covering, torn away. My pride even more so.

It was a part of me that was never meant to be revealed; the proof I was anything but human. Anything but real. I had never felt any sickness towards myself before; I was okay with myself, so content I had even been cocky. But every beatdown, every victory, only humbled me further. Being a hero was never easy, I expected that. Heroes always had hardships. But I never expected it to hurt so much to do the right thing.

I looked at my arm directly, watching the human-like hand servos shift and roll with every movement. It was odd, seeing my internal structures outside of Mini's diagnostics. I never really thought too much of it. But something about what had happened imprinted on me so strongly that I felt disassociation from my own body. I hated that constant anxiety stirring in my stomach every time I looked at that part of myself. It was proof of my failure to protect humanity and robots alike. Proof I failed my family.

I looked up, hearing my sister's calls from ahead. I smiled reassuringly, running towards her. Every step radiated through my arm. I hated it. Her hazel eyes stared at it every time. She was worried. I hated that.

'Let her think I'm okay,' I told myself ever since, 'be cocky like always. Hide what's happening,' I scolded myself, 'don't put them in any more danger', I grabbed a fuel line every time. It hurt. I deserved it. I let everyone down.

Suna always said, 'Aki, you can't blame yourself, this was outside of your control.'

She stopped saying it after a few days. I think she saw me squeezing the fuel lines. She hadn't said anything yet. I hoped Dad didn't know. He didn't need to know. I deserved it.

He said we were almost to his old lab. I continued to walk. I felt Suna's eyes on me. She's so worried. Why do I keep worrying everyone?

It wouldn't be long before we'd be found. We had to keep moving. I couldn't talk. I didn't deserve to talk… 

Why were we running?

I'm weak.

I failed unity.

Unity is broken.

My fault.

It's my fault.

My fault.

My fault.


	2. "Buzz"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Lights approach an old human city long swallowed by the Northern Californian forests, and Aki is beginning to uncover a new secret left stagnant by his father long ago...

"We're just about to the lab," I heard my father say as we passed through another rough patch of dimming forestry. Despite humanity's developments, nature had always prevailed, especially outside of the old ruins. That's where humans had once headquartered during the Hard Age, but was abandoned by them when the Unity Pact was signed by robot and human officials. 

Now, thanks to me, that pact was going to be broken.

"Aki, are you okay?" I heard Suna ask me, after a long stretch of unbearable silence. I gave her the biggest smile I possibly could. 

"I'm fine," that was a lie, "how're you holding up?" her eyes averted from my gaze. She saw right through me.

"I've been better. It's… colder out here. More open," I could see her stiffen as we continued to step through the forest underbrush and fallen metal beams. Suna was never afraid. Then again, neither of them had gone this far outside of Silicon County, "do you think we'll ever get back to Silicon City…?"

My artificial breath hitched in my throat and I abruptly stopped in my tracks. Home. Home. Home. We all wanted to go home. We can't go home.

My fault. My fault.

I must have been visibly disturbed; Suna put a hand on my shoulder. Her voice snapped me out of my stupor.

"A-Aki! What's wrong? Does your arm need--"

"I'm okay!" I shrugged off her hand and hugged myself, taking special care to not touch my exposed arm synthetics. Dad had stopped a bit farther ahead in a thinner part of the young forest. This must have been it; we'd arrived.

As me and my sister approached him, he held out a scarred arm.

Thanks to me, he would have more of the same that lined his skin like bad memories.

"Hold up, you two. I don't like this…" his voice rumbled lowly, as if to remain inconspicuous to an unseen threat. I looked around wildly. A sensation in the back of my head. Like a little buzzing. Like a fly. A wasp? It was getting louder. It was like garbled speech.

"Dad? Do you see something?" I heard Suna say, though just barely as the buzzing increased in intensity.

It sounded more and more… human. It was clearly synthesized. Like a robot. It wasn't Mini.

Mini was gone.

It was something else. Reaching out.

Reach out. 

I mentally grasped at the odd sensation, and it exploded like a flower suddenly blooming its petals all at once. An explosion of every color, from ultraviolet to gamma in my mind. Infurling. Spreading. Like an eagle's wings as it prepared to take flight. I was overwhelmed, and I must have fallen, since the explosion of color was replaced by me hitting damp dirt and greenery. My sight had returned to me, and I looked up to see my father and sister looking down at me with greatly concerned expressions.

"Aki? Is everything alright?" my father asked

"I… I'm fine. I probably just tripped!" 

Liar.

My father didn't appear convinced, and neither did Suna. But at least my father didn't badger me for details and continued onwards, albeit slowly. However, as soon as I stood up, Suna probed me for answers.

"What's up with you? I know it isn't your arm; I tweaked it this afternoon."

Usual response.

"Just tired."

"It's more than that. You… You can talk to us, ro-bro. You know that, right?"

"It's fine," I should stop lying, "we have bigger problems to deal with."

"Nothing is more important than family!" she appeared taken aback by my lackluster response. I wasn't feeling up to it. I just wanted to sleep. Sleep. Sleep. 

The buzzing started again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we start seeing a bit of lore coming into the fold! I decided to place Silicon City in the Silicon Valley of California, since I'm both lazy and it made sense.


	3. "I am CAL-97"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new robot shows its face, but is it friend, or foe?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This time on "I don't know how to write Aki's character"...!
> 
> Welcome to the chapter lol

The buzzing was unbearable. Night had fallen. We'd eventually located the lab entrance, but it was too dark for Dad to pick the old locks, so we'd set up a camp nearby. Not that we had any supplies. My arm would be tweaked once again by Suna, and checked by Dad. Nothing they could have done but make sure it didn't get worse. My cover would have needed to be replaced manually; my generation matrix was knocked offline by the EMP. 

Why am I relying on others?

I don't deserve their kindness.

...

I was first watch. That's fine. I couldn't sleep.

I moved as far away as I could. They didn't need to see it.

My arm crackled with a faint charge as I maneuvered it to my view. It made my stomach churn, my core speed up. It wasn't as intense as before. The pain was gone now. It… was just scars.

I grabbed a rather 'healthy' fuel line and gently tugged at it. It burned and pulsated slightly brighter under even the lightest touch.

I wondered what would happen if I broke it…? 

I heard rustling. I tore my hand away from my arm as a large shadow cast from the very faint moonlight, causing a wave of discomfort to radiate from the affected fuel line. The shadow didn't give me any chance to move beyond that; it descended upon me and knocked into me.

I felt the ground hit me, and I had known I'd been struck. I didn't bother checking for injuries. I wouldn't fail again. 

I heard a low, mechanical whir behind me. 

Suna screamed.

I disregarded the remaining sensitivity in my arm. The buzzing in the back of my head was now just noise compared to the blazing, animalistic torrent of fear, anger and the weight of my failures.

And my desire to fix them.

I twisted onto my front and dug my stinging, sore limbs into the damp Californian soil to get traction. In the blink of an eye, I flung myself forward like a wild wolf pouncing upon its prey.

It didn't hit me what I'd done at first until I felt myself ram into the mech roughly, and pin it to the ground. It was only a little bigger than me. I felt I could take it on. I had to. It was my responsibility. 

The mech, in the light of the dimming makeshift fire, appeared heavily damaged. A robot. It was humanoid, but looked less human than robot. It was most certainly old, as it was covered in nature-related ailments. Definitely lightweight; I wouldn't have been able to knock it down otherwise. Remnants of a robot from the hard wars, perhaps.

The buzzing was so loud. I couldn't hear myself think. But it was stirring, festering. I 'poked' at the sensation mentally. It seemed to move away from me this time. 

One moment, I had pinned this old robot to the ground, the next, pain exploded through my chest and I was on the ground uncomfortably close to the fire. The robot had let out a piercing screech of synthesized nonsensical numbers as my father pulled out his blaster, and a very shaken Suna grabbed her staff. 

The buzzing… It felt afraid. That didn't make sense; sounds couldn't be afraid.

I poked the buzzing again. The mech visibly flinched. I put two and two together; this robot was the buzzing. Well, maybe. I had no idea what had happened, or why I could 'feel' it. Was it the cause of this, or was this an underlying program…? What I did know that I could use that against it, if it decided to attack… If it could even make a conscious decision at this point.

Suna, seeing her father with his blaster, had lowered her staff and moved closer to me.

"Aki! Are you okay? That was a nasty kick," I let out a pained groan as she knelt and began examining the affected area, "y-you should be more careful. Your repair systems are offline, and I don't have my toolbox with me."

"Doesn't matter," I muttered, "I heard you scream. Are you okay?" I studied her intensely, looking for the slightest hint of a wound. She nodded, helping me sit up slowly.

"I'm alright. It was close, but you were faster than it," she exhaled strongly through her nose, "do you know what it's for?" Suna looked back at the mechanical, who was aggressively glitching out gibberish to Dr. Light, his father. 

"I... Don't. It might be from the war," I say, studying it for any signs of identification. My investigation was cut short as I heard blaster shots. The robot had attacked. My father was rapidly firing his blaster, but the bipedal mech was unaffected by most of the shots as it advanced on him.

I initiated my transformation. I needed to help. 

Combat strategies flooded my mind. Enhanced mobility was unlocked.

Then something short-circuited. My armor did not form, only one eye shifted to a gently glowing blue. My hair remained. My clothing remained. Everything was so similar, except for the pulsating charge overloading my uncovered arm. 

I felt the energy. It crackled like lightning and tickled my servos. It was like an old friend in a different hairstyle. I knew how to properly utilize the energy, but in a different way.

"Aki, no," Suna warned, "you're going to drain your core!"

I didn't listen.

I sprinted towards the mech and intercepted it mere feet from Dad. I picked up my speed and poked the sensation, making the mech stop. With considerable force, I thrusted my body towards it and violently yanked it onto the ground by its helmet wings. I heard my father frantically calling my name, and saw Suna trying to reach me.

All I heard was buzzing after a few moments.

I connected my arm to the robot's core in an attempt to overload it.

Don't fail this.

Don't mess this up.

But instead of charging its core beyond capacity, my systems initiated a new function.

[>Locking onto external core]

[>External core accessed manually.]

[>Transferring nexus data to external core.]

I felt cold. It was so cold. And the undeniable feeling of fear, loneliness and mortality hung thick in the empty air around me.

Entirely black. 

I tried to find ground, but I soon realized I was not able to move at all. I had no body. Only my mental and emotional influence could prevail here, I would soon find out. 

A feminine voice rang out in this empty space, seemingly infinitely echoing.

"What-- Who are you?"

I responded with a data ping and a statement.

"I'm Aki Light. Who are you?"

The voice did not respond for a moment.

"I'm CAL-97. Why are you here?"

"Me and my family were… traveling. We're from Silicon City. Why did you attack us?"

"I scanned human lifesigns and an unrecognized robot signature. My programming demanded that I intercept the threat," the voice was stronger, "what is 'Silicon City'? Is that a robot headquarters?"

I felt I had to be very careful what I said next. Any wrong move and I'd be digging my family an even deeper hole, and this robot could potentially harm my own core.

...I decided to be as honest as possible.

"It's a city, where humans and robots live together…I guess you were stuck out here and never got word of the Unity Pact, huh?"

"Unity… Pact… My databases don't contain that memory. I'm sorry. I don't remember any sort of treaty or pact being signed."

Crisis averted. She took that oddly well...

"It's okay! Do you need repairs, CAL? You looked pretty beat up when we were fighting back there," I extended kindness, like I did Wood Man. The robots who had been left in the wilderness didn't know any better; my old ally putting down the razor leaves when faced with a peaceful option had shown me that.

Silence.

"I would appreciate system repairs. Are you a medic?"

"No, my father is a doctor of robotics! He can fix you, I'm sure. Er, once we get out of here," I laughed nervously. I had no idea where we were or why I was connected to CAL's core… Could it be a virtual space?

"Your father… a human. How is it possible that a human sires a robot?" she asked with genuine curiosity. The hanging mist of fear and isolation was beginning to rise, and her mind was becoming less and less black. I could see the dim twinkling of what seemed to be her neural processes. I knew it!

"It's more symbolic and less literal. He made me, so that makes me his son, right?" I gently extended my mental influence over her own, and this time she did not move away. She was beginning to trust me, "I have a sister too. Her name is Suna. Dad 'made' her, like me… So that'd make me her brother, right? It just, you know, makes sense."

CAL seemed to ponder for a moment as her neurodes pulsated, before a twinkling laugh radiated like a gentle glowing wave through the network.

"So much changed while I was out here all this time," her mind was completely unveiled to me in a matter of moments, it was almost overwhelming. I'd attained her trust, "humans forming families with robots. I'd always hoped this day would come for our species."

The buzzing had changed into a quiet presence in the back of my mind. And this robot felt… she felt… like she was there. Connected to that sensation. I could sense her and her intentions, her thoughts.

"Do you want to get out of here so we can fix you up, CAL?" I asked. Her joy had shifted to contentment, and I could feel her approval.

"How will we do that? I--"

Suddenly, the direct connection was severed. All I could feel was CAL in that odd sensation. I could no longer hear her.

My senses returned to me. My eyes widened as much as they could before I took in a loud, gasping artificial breath of air. It didn’t feel any more real than the past week.

"Aki! What happened?!" Suna looked like she was about to cry, "what did you do?! What happened to--"

"Aki," my father's voice was tense with worry, "what did you do?"

"I," I paused and felt my arm. It was no longer pulsating with energy, and the soft glow of my eye wasn't reflecting off of my hoodie anymore. I was reverted. What did I do? "…I talked to her. The robot. I touched her core and I... I-I should be asking you what happened, Dad!" my confusion and anger must have been visible on my face, because he was giving me that look in his eyes...

My father looked down, and took a deep breath. He was doing it again… 

"We should get into the lab, first. The robot appears incapacitated right now, so we should restrain it and get some sleep. Especially you, Aki," he gave me a warning gaze that said 'do it for my sake'. 

I didn't argue.

Suna didn't stop bothering me and probing me with tests and exams, until I insisted I really was tired.

...

I didn’t sleep much.


	4. "I deserved it"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aki finally meets his new friend face-to-face, but Suna doesn't seem to share the same enthusiasm as him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While posting the first 5 chapters, I noticed I accidentally posted 2 chapters in one chapter... So I feel dumb lol

_“Looks like the whole gang's here!”_

_“Oh, Mega Man… Once I scrub your ‘family’ out of your circuits…_ **_you’ll be the perfect weapon.”_ **

**** _..._

 **** _“No!”_

_…_

_“Finally! You see your_ **_full_ ** _potential! Under_ **_my_ ** _watch you would have unlocked those powers years ago. And you’d_ **_know_ ** _how to use them!”_

_…_

_..._

_“I knew those worthless tools wouldn’t be anything more than a distraction. It’s time for plan B!”_

_“Breaker! What are you doing?!”_

_…_

_“Mini! Mini no! Mini!”_

_“Don’t worry, Chief. You’ll do just fine!”_

_“_ **_Mini!_ ** _”_

_…_

_“We don’t have any time! Grab what you can and run!”_

_…_

_…_

_My arm. Where’s my arm?_

_Dad._

_I can’t_

_feel_

_my_

_arm._

_…_

_D A D ?_

_I C A N ‘ T M O V E ._

I awoke with a start. My fingers dug deep into the damp soil below me. My core thudded forcefully within my abdomen. Next to me I felt shifting, and my head whipped around to see my sister sleeping peacefully next to me in her makeshift bedding.

Her hair was messy and greasy from almost a week without proper cleaning, and dark circles highlighted her eye sockets. Her olive flushed cheeks appeared paler. That could have easily just been from dust and dirt; I shouldn't have been concerned. But beneath the grime and stress, Suna was still there.

I wondered what I looked like then; I didn’t have blood or real skin. I was just a robot. I wasn't supposed to change. 

I relaxed my tense shoulders and allowed a softer expression to cover my features. As I looked to the makeshift tent's damp foliage exit, I noticed the pale light of the morning sun shimmering through. It's light was enhanced by the particles of Northern Californian fog that had probably begun to rise from the warmth.

Stiffly, I uncovered the sleeping bag from my body. Its fabric was rough and worn with a thick coating of dust, as to be expected from years of being in an abandoned cabin, where moths and other wildlife could have deteriorated it considerably. It was a miracle we'd even found the cabin to begin with… Suna was getting colder at night before we’d raided it for supplies.

Dad didn't want to admit it, but this trip was wearing him down more and more. It shocked me just how strong he was pretending to be. Every night I could see his shoulders slumping, and the dim reflections of age-old memories best forgotten.

He'd once fought for humanity, and now he was fighting for the survival of his remaining family. It almost made me sick… I was sure it made him sick, too.

As I maneuvered to get up, I heard rustling outside. Silently I hoped it was Dad, or CAL, that was out there. Just in case, I grabbed Suna's staff that sat idly against a strong foundation of the tent.

I slipped outside of the tent, the sound of leaves rustling in my auditory sensors and the feeling of damp dew peppering me in small droplets making me feel the slightest bit refreshed.

"Kya!" I heard a very feminine battle-cry to my right, and my senses kicked into overdrive. I swung the staff around, twisting my torso into a ready position, "woah! It's you! Sorry, Sorry. Put the staff down!"

I had to double take at the sight. The same robot from the night before, CAL, stood before me. She was considerably cleaner and seemed to be in much better repair. Her intense cyan eyes looked me over, and in the back of my head I could feel her friendly familiarity, and even some relief.

"CAL? How did you get…" I glanced away awkwardly. I was staring, "where's Dad?"

"He should be in the human lab nearby. He gave me some quick fixes after I woke up," she gave me a sheepish smile, "he told me to let you sleep, but I admit couldn't wait any longer. You spoke so highly of yourself and your family, I couldn't wait to meet all of you in person!"

Oh. I glanced back at the tent of branches and leaves. Suna was still sleeping… She needed her rest. It wasn't obvious, but the situation was wearing her down, and her worrying about me didn't make it any better. I turned back to CAL and rubbed the back of my neck nervously.

"I may not be as tired, but Suna needs to sleep. Maybe we could talk for a while until she wakes up?" I offered. CAL appeared to consider it for a moment, before nodding. I couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"I understand. Let's go and let her sleep then, huh?" she took a few steps back and motioned towards a few worn building skeletons. Without much else to say, we made our way towards the buildings. Nothing truly eventful happened while we walked quietly together.

It took me some effort to walk through the foliage. My damages must have been more extensive than originally thought…

 _'Better not tell dad,'_ I silently reminded myself, _'nobody needs to worry.'_

Thankfully, CAL had seemed rather patient with me. I had been only a few feet away from a small shed-like building when she looked at me.

“So… Aki… What’s with the arm?” she asked innocently, heaving herself up onto a stable-looking beam. I went quiet and looked down at my damaged arm, the energy veins pulsating to a steady, unheard rhythm.. What was I supposed to tell her? All she knew was half of the story!

“I…”

“Don’t worry about it,” her voice was sympathetic. I looked back up to her, stunned. She was okay with my silence? “I’ve seen a lot of soldiers and civilians damaged by the war and otherwise traumatic experiences,” her face fell, “myself included. It’s always tough, and sometimes we can never truly move on, but you’ll always have your kin.”

I couldn’t help but give her just the faintest hint of a smile. The warm buzz of comfort radiated somewhere deep in my core.

But it didn’t change anything, in the end. I’d failed my ‘kin’, and humans too.

…

My smile faded almost instantly.

“I have to thank you, though,” she stood on the sturdy beam, her body gracefully balancing on its thin and rusty form, “I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting a Superior Master in… God, I don’t know. I swear, once the Scout Nexus went offline, I thought I was going to go mad from all the silence.”

“Wh...at?” What was she talking about? A ‘superior master’? I’d never heard of such a thing. The only thing relatively similar that I’d known of was a ‘robot master’, which I had been taught from day one that I had possessed the enhanced abilities of.

A nexus. Robot masters were unable to create informational nexi. No robot had possessed that ability, and a nexus had to be carefully built and protected from tampering by robots and robots only. It was a sacred thing, the egregore of the robots… A shared virtual space hosted by a collective neural network used to share information, memories and conversation. Robots could indeed survive without one, but I had been told it was like losing a vital part of yourself without one. Like losing a limb. Like losing a fraction of your reach or ability to move… It was awful. But you did survive, at least physically.

I was always told I was ‘special’. I was unable to connect to the Silicon City nexus, for reasons Dad would never tell me. I never knew what it was like to feel, think or even share such a thing with other robots.

It was an indescribable feeling. Everyone I’d asked was at a loss for words… It just couldn’t be vocally portrayed properly. It was an enigma. It was sublimity.

Was that was those colors were? Was that what the buzz was like in my head when I reached out to CAL? Could it happen to others? More importantly to myself… did I make a nexus? Even so, how did I do it?

“You know, an Informational Nexus? Or did they not teach you about those in school?”

“I… I know what a nexus is but…” I shook my head, “what do you mean ‘superior master’? What is that?” she looked at me like it was crazy. She’d gone entirely slack-jawed.

“You’ve never heard of the superior masters.”

“Nope.”

“What is this world coming to?!” she flung her arms in the air, exasperated, “the superior masters are a council of robots that oversee different aspects of the robot armies using their Informational Nexi! How have you _never_ heard of them?!”

I glanced to the side, and then back at her. She… didn’t seem hostile? I could probably just...

“Uh, because they’re probably never around? There’s not been any wars since the hard ages, CAL. I think they were decommissioned or they went and started their own lives once the treaty was signed…”

“Wh… What?!” CAL gripped her head and slumped, “b-but…”

Oh no. I messed up.

“I… guess,” she looked up at me, studying me closely, “times have _really_ changed, huh?”

The female mech sighed and sat on the pole, her head hanging low between her armored shoulders. I… thought I made her upset. I needed to fix it. Just this once I needed to try and fix something.

Quietly, I shuffled over to the metallic pole. I steadily climbed onto it, using my muddied shoe treads as traction against the edges. I had to be careful not to use my coverless arm too much as I climbed over to CAL.

“Hey,” I sat next to her; she seemingly didn’t notice me climbing up, “I’m… sorry. This is probably really intense for you. It’s intense for me, too.”

Don’t say anything yet.

“I’m not mad,” she grumbled so quietly I almost didn’t hear her, “I’m just guilty I didn’t try to find my way to civilization when the Nexus blipped out. I’m… I’m guilty I spent so much time being blind and just following orders, instead of finding a better solution,” CAL turned her head and let her ocean-like eyes meet mine.

“I regret a lot of things too. I feel guilty every day. I feel a lot of things a kid-robot probably shouldn’t,” I chuckled sadly, “but you don’t need to hold onto that. It’s over; the war is done and you get to have a new chance in a new world.”

CAL froze, and then smiled. Truly smiled.

“Thank you, Aki Light.”

I smiled back. How could I not?

“It’s no problem. We all need a little pep-talk sometimes.”

Rustling.

My head whipped up to the direction of the shifting, my servos tensing up and crackling with untamed blue energy beneath my covering… Another fight…!

“I knew I’d find you somewhere, Aki,” the form that revealed herself to be my sister rubbed her eyes and looked at my blearily, “you had me worried for a ‘sec.”

“Uh, h-hey Suna!” I waved and leaped off of the pole, landing nimbly on my feet despite my physical fatigue. Good. No fights, “you feeling okay…?”

Suna looked at me skeptically, and smirked.

“I should be asking you that, ro-bro. You expended a lot of core energy last night,” she shook her head and wiped some stray hair behind her ear, “I need to check your arm and do some manual diagnosti--”

“Ahem!” from behind me, CAL cleared her non-existent throat and jumped down from the beam, “before you do all of that…”

She gently shoved me to the side, and firmly extended a metallic arm to Suna, who was both alarmed and confused by her sudden intrusion.

“My name is CAL-97. My databases tell me Aki has a human father and human sister,” she winked and wiggled her hand, “and I presume you’re the sister.”

Suna chuckled awkwardly and nodded slowly. She took CAL’s hand and firmly shook it, though her other hand was clenched tightly in a fist.

She was scared.

“U-Uh. Hello… CAL-97.”

“Oh, just call me CAL. It really is a pleasure to meet you-- ahhh… what’s your name?” CAL pulled her hand away and crossed her arms lazily.

“Suna. Suna Light.”

“Name registered. Nice to meet you, Suna,” the mechanoid female gave Suna a nod and backed away, “sorry to interrupt. I just _had_ to meet you. Aki spoke very highly of his family…”

Suna looked at me with an unimpressed raised eyebrow. I coughed into a fist.

_Awkward._

Suna’s hand was starting to shake.

Better escape fast.

“Uh, yeah. Great, glad we could all meet-and-greet!” I grabbed my sister’s unclenched hand and began to walk away _very quickly_ from the building skeletons, “i-if you’ll excuse us? Me and my sister, have uh, scientific diagnostic stuff to do!”

CAL snorted and waved.

“Good luck with it, Lights! I’ll be around!”

Once we were a good distance away, Suna tore her hand from mine and crossed her arms, a small frown on her face..

“What’s going on with that robot?”

“Well, we were talking.”

“She literally tried to tear off my head in the middle of the night!” Suna put her hands on her hips, giving me a sharp look with her tired hazel eyes.

“She seems fine now,” I shrugged and gave her a lazy look, “she seemed to be actually guilty about what she did, and I’m not getting any vibes from her.”

“Oh, I’m getting some vibes, ro-bro. And I don’t trust her at all,” I narrowed my eyes at her, before I noticed her shoulders shaking.

Oh.

Dammit.

“Hey…” I slowly reached out a hand, “I get it. I was scared too, y’know? I took her away from the tent so you wouldn’t panic. And if she attacked, at least she wouldn’t hurt you. It’s okay.”

Suna looked away. Her shoulders continued to shiver with the weight of her worries. I couldn’t see her face anymore… She was hiding that burden from me.

“Suna,” I kept my hands off of her. She didn’t like it when I touched her like this, “Suna. Sit down for a ‘sec. It’s okay.”

Suna didn’t sit down smoothly. At all. She slumped onto the damp foliage uncomfortably and suddenly, leading me to think she had fallen for a moment. I took a moment for her to adjust and sat down with her.

Suna’s deep and audibly heavy breathing had taken at least five minutes or more to slow to calm gasps, and then finally sobs. She fell forward onto me, signalling to me that it was fine to touch her. I wrapped my arms around her in a comforting embrace, letting her cry and cry.

“I miss home,” she sniffed, “I miss the way things used to be. With you saving the city every day, and hiding it from Dad… I miss school, I miss Ashley, I miss Bert, I miss Rush…” Suna had always been so strong for me. She’d been smart, resourceful and hardy. Hell, she could even fight given the means. But now… “It’s so open here, Aki. I _hate_ it. I miss the city. I miss the routine! It’s too different now… I hate it… _I hate it,_ ” ...I needed to be strong for her.

“I miss it too. I miss the quirky adventures, I miss our friends. I miss Mini, and Rush. I miss my games, and even school,” I took in a shaky artificial breath to catch my bearings. But there was no such release. The pressure. The hate. The guilt. It all continued building, “and I’m so sorry that I failed you and everyone else at being the hero that could keep it safe… that could keep _us_ safe.”

“You didn’t fail us, Aki,” she pulled back, wiping her face and putting her hands on my shoulders, “you can’t keep saying that to yourself. It’s not healthy to blame yourself for something nobody else could have prevented as long as you did. Nothing else could be done… Not without losing you. And Dad couldn’t lose you,” Suna closed her eyes, inhaling sharply, “I couldn’t either. Not to _him._ ”

_Him._ Sergeant Night. A hero of the Hard wars, and a cold, calculated strategist. A man who had lost so much… His family, his soldiers, and in his eyes, even the war. Dad knew him, and took commands directly from him as head of the robotics team. I had never even suspected him to be the mastermind behind the robot master attacks and the ‘Lord Obsidian’ mask. Until it was too late, and we’d lost everything due to his inability to let go of the past.

_I was no better._ I couldn’t let go of the past. I couldn’t let go of the friends I’d lost. The life I’d lived.

...I probably deserved it. But not Suna. Not Dad. Never them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter here. 5 is also a decent length, I'd say. Hope you're not bored to death yet!


	5. "Falling"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aki begins to reconnect with his sister, but his father is still keeping secrets after all that has happened... Trust is in short supply. And the ruins of the old human base are proving to be less docile than originally thought...

I remained quiet for a few minutes, as did Suna.

Then, heavy footsteps thumped behind us.

“Aki? Suna? What are you doing out here?” I instantly recognized Dad’s voice, and whipped my head around.

“Uh… we were just talking. How’s the lab?” I quickly changed the subject as I stood up with my sister. I had a gentle grip on her arm to help her keep balance. Dad gave us a knowing look, before clearing his throat.

“The lab is fine, if a bit dusty. It should be safe to give you some repairs and collect some supplies, Aki,” he walked closer and looked at my arm, “I want to keep a close eye on it. Last night was… Let’s just keep it cleaned and repaired okay?”

I nodded, avoiding his gaze. He had to have been disappointed in me… 

Suna backed off as a stern expression covered my once downcast features.

“Dad. What _was_ that last night…? CAL said something about an informational nexus, and about something called ‘superior masters’. What does she mean?”

“Aki…” he sighed and looked away from me deliberately, “there’s some things I want to tell you… But just--”

A pang of betrayal hit me in the chest like a heavy rock. This wasn’t right; he couldn’t just keep secrets like this! It was one thing to ‘wait until I was ready’ to learn about my own _brother_ , but my identity and abilities… That wasn’t okay. I deserved to know.

Maybe I was just selfish?

No. I was angry, and I nearly spat out the next words I spoke.

“No! I’m tired of this!” I stomped my foot against the forest floor and glared at him. In the corner of my vision, a blue spark emitted, “I’m tired of the secrets! Funny coming from me, but _you_ hid my powers from me! My own _brother_ from me!”

“Aki,” my father tried to speak up over my angry tone, but I had none of it.

“I don’t care about patience. I don’t _care_ about ‘timing’ or ‘being ready’ anymore! What happened to being ‘willing to disclose all information’ to me, huh?!” I could feel myself trembling. Not from anger, or fear, but the sheer pressure of all that had been put upon me, and what I’d put upon myself. The burden of a boy given more power than any child should ever possess.

“Aki, please, son. You know I don’t--”

“Shut up!” I finally screamed.

Too much.

The buster. The armor. The power. The expectations. The victories.

The defeats.

The silence.

And the sheer amount of hurt on my father’s face as I shouted at him, for the first time with any amount of abhorrence for his deeds. He’d always been such a good man.

But in that moment, I had hated him. 

The silence continued for a long stretch of time, before I simply couldn’t hold my own weight anymore. I grabbed the sides of my head tightly and fell to my knees. 

“...Aki,” Suna whispered next to me, “D-Dad’s just looking out for you…”

“No, Suna. It’s okay,” my father said quietly. I glanced up at him. Would he punish me?

But when I looked up, I only saw pain in his ice blue eyes. The somber expression had almost aged him. The self-loathing and guilt had finally backfired, and hurt one of the only people I had left.

“Dad,” I croaked, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to yell I just…” I had regretted what I’d said and done. He’d been trying so hard to protect me and keep me and my sister in one piece. And in repayment, I lashed out because I was so caught up in my own damn self-interest.

“Son. I’m sorry for making you feel as if I was keeping secrets from you,” he kneeled down to me and put a hand on my tense shoulder, “I only do these things to _protect_ you, and not overwhelm you. I should be more open with information… especially for you. We don’t have the luxuries we once had, and we need to stick together more than ever, as a _family_.”

“...Because nothing is more important than family,” I murmured, looking down at my uncovered arm, crestfallen. Oh, how I’d forgotten that saying.

“Exactly. Let’s go to the lab and take a look at your arm,” Dad reassuringly patted my shoulder and helped me up onto my feet, which ached already despite not being used much that day. 

As Dad walked with us, I fell behind with Suna. I could feel her unassured eyes on me as I deeply thought through my actions and emotions. I needed to process. I couldn’t act rashly anymore. And that was… tough, to say the least. And I wasn’t adapting as well as I’d like, judging by my outburst. I needed to be better. I needed to fix myself. I wasn’t good enough. I--

“Aki, you don’t really think Dad’s a liar,” Suna questioned softly, just below a murmur.

“Of course not,” I felt my lips move before I could even think through the question. Stupid. Of course he’s a liar! Just… not the bad kind. No going back now, “we all say things and do things for a reason… Dad has his. I had mine.”

I could almost taste the skepticism dripping from Suna as soon as those final words left my mouth.

“You mean, _have,_ bro. You’ve been seriously messed up over the past week, and you haven’t even told Dad about…” she paused and quieted her voice to a whisper, “you’re lucky he hasn’t noticed the bruising on your energy lines yet.”

Oh. She knew. Of course she did… She checked too, after all.

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” I should have been angry and indignant for her spying on me. I should have yelled at her for it. But all I could do was question why she kept the knowledge hidden. All I could do was wonder what her motivations were.

“Because I was waiting for _you_ to. Heroes are honest, Aki--”

“I’m _not_ a hero,” I spat, giving my sister a sour glare, “Mega Man died with Silicon City. Dad doesn’t need to worry, and you shouldn’t either,” and with that, I stormed ahead. We were almost to the mossy sliding doors to what I presumed was the lab anyways. A perfect diversion. A perfect escape from my own problems.

Dad walked towards a strange, rusty device. It had a damaged screen on it, but seemed to be functional, as when he walked by, it flickered on. From what little I could see on the old pixels, it was asking for a thumb print. It would have seemed my assumptions were correct. Dad gently placed his thumb on the pad, and just a moment later, the lab doors slid open with a low whir.

Dust rolled out of the darkened area behind the old doors, making Suna and Dad cough a bit, while I simply waved my hand in front of my eyes. 

I didn’t need to breathe, not truly.

“Here we are, children. There should be supplies left in the old lockers, but I cannot guarantee any meals. Any food left in the fridges have probably been long since decomposed,” he sighed heavily, “robot food was not kept by humans in these times, Aki. We’ll need to improvise and use old energy cores to keep you up and running.”

“It’s… It’s okay,” in truth, it wasn’t. I was low on energy, especially after last night’s little energy excursion. But they didn’t need to worry. They were more fragile. _They_ needed energy, not me. Never me. I failed. I shouldn’t--

“It’s not okay. We’ll find food for you, son. Nobody goes hungry,” he gave me a small smile, but the twinkle in his eyes showed his worry. 

I would have said ‘don’t worry about me!’. Or ‘don’t worry about it!’. But I knew no matter what I said, he still somehow cared about me. No matter how many times I failed, he would be there for me. And damn it all, I didn’t know _why_. 

As Dad walked inside of the lab entrance, Suna glanced at me very, very knowingly and stopped me.

“Aki. No matter what you _think_ …” her voice was dead serious, devoid of any mirth or even sadness, “you deserve to eat. You deserve your family. You didn’t do anything _wrong._ And I _know_ it’s so, so hard to adjust, but you can’t keep telling yourself that you’re fine, when me and Dad both know _full well_ you _aren’t_ okay.”

“Suna,” I was about to interject, but she continued speaking regardless.

“You can’t keep this up forever. Seriously. Just sit down and talk with us about it!”

I glanced away. She was right. I couldn’t keep it up forever; I’d deteriorate. I’d fail them again. But they didn’t need to know.

But they had already seen my bruised lines. They’d already heard the crying at night. Why did I keep fighting it…?

“I’ll… Think about it,” I said slowly. No promises. Never any promises. Never again.

“That’s all I ask,” her voice seemed less heavy, and her eyes brightened up like the morning sun that radiated on our backs. At least she was happier now… 

“Come on in you two,” I heard Dad call for us, and I wasted no time walking into the dark corridor. It took just a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim room, but once they did, I was faced with a long staircase. The stairs were dusty, and extremely weathered. The only way I was able to see them and their damage was because of the blue, flickering lights that lined the walls and rails downwards. Suna walked in after me, sneezing violently.

“Dad, are you sure it’s safe to walk on these?” she questioned next to me. I cautiously approached the old metal stairs and tried to take a first step.

“Of course it is. I wouldn’t bring you here otherwise,” he answered encouragingly, “I brought CAL down here for repairs earlier and we ensured it was a safe passage down below.”

At hearing CAL’s name, I looked at Dad.

“You met her?” I asked. How curious… It was no wonder she was fully repaired.

“Yes, son. She told me everything about her time out here. I’m sure she’ll tell you the tale on our journey,” he paused and opened the door at the bottom of the stairs. I almost asked what he’d meant by ‘journey’, but Suna brushing past me to walk down the stairs reminded me of the current goal; get down the stairs without falling.

After Suna, I gingerly took a step onto the first step. Then the next. It felt stable enough to walk on, at least. 

Suna shouted out, and the sound of creaking metal rang throughout the corridor. I looked up rapidly to see a large chunk of the stairwell missing, and Suna losing her balance on the edge of the affected area.

My core skipped a beat as I saw her beginning to fall into the wide hole, down into the dusty, dark, probably-endless hole beneath the ruins.

Fear.

The fear.

Oh God. The fear. The cold. The look in her eyes.

_Don’t you dare let it happen to her._

_Anyone but her._

…

_Grab her!_

_Grab her you idiot!_

Time slowed. My reflexes kicked in. I left the nerves and the petrification behind and I _forced_ my servos to move. 

I leapt forward and reached my right arm outwards. My damaged arm.

Metal met skin as I grabbed her outstretched hand as fast and as hard as I could. Shockwaves of pain and sensitivity wracked through my artificial nerve endings, but I did not let go.

I could not let go.

I violently yanked her towards me.

I felt gravity give and I spun around, throwing her to the bottom of the stairs to Dad.

“AKI!” I heard Suna scream.

Falling.

I was _falling._

No. No no no. Nononono.

I flung my arms out to my sides to try and find traction, but all I found was rusted, weak metal that gave at my fingertips. 

Falling.

I couldn’t even scream as I watched my father’s eyes widen in horror.

I couldn’t even call for help as I kicked him away from the unstable pit.

I just wanted him to be safe.

…

…

…

I reached out to the little buzzing in the back of my head.

…

Falling.

Falling.

…

I screamed out for the buzzing. I pounded at it. I scratched it, clawed it. I screamed at it.

I received a frantic ping in response.

The light was fading.

The light was gone.

…

…

Impact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My poor son Aki can't catch a break. The next chapter should be interesting!


	6. "That's what I fight for"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aki has fallen beneath the lab ruins, with no apparent way out. Will he find the strength he needs to escape...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was planning on posting this in 5 chapter bursts, but I don't think I'll be able to sustain that sort of system for long. So here is chapter 6!

_ “...You’re not mad?” I asked, looking at the tall, bulky man before me. His beard and ponytail were silvery white, like freshly fallen snow. His eyes were an icy sky blue, that let off an aura of wisdom, mirth and joy. _

__ _ “Of course not,” he let out a low, rumbling laugh, “you’ve made me so proud, Aki. You’re so new to this world, and yet you’ve done so much in your short time awake. I couldn’t ask for a more compassionate, intelligent and curious son. I couldn’t ask for you to be anyone different than who you are.” _

__ _ I smiled at him. He loved me. _

__ _ “And who you are, is something  _ **_nobody_ ** _ can take away from you. No matter how many battles you fight, no matter how many people are against you, no matter how tough things get, my son…” _

__ **_“I’ll always be here for you.”_ **

**** _ “Aki, my bright light. You’re going to do so many amazing things.” _

__ My eyes fluttered open, despite how heavy they felt. My visual HUD flashed red with damage reports and boot errors. I pushed it away, returning my vision to myself. All around me was darkness and the sound of dripping water. I tried to inhale, but instead I coughed up a faintly glowing blue liquid onto my dusty chest. I was damaged… that much was obvious. Where was Dad? Suna?   


I saved Suna. I fell. I was hurt.   


“Shoot… Th-They’re all alone…” I tried to sit up, only to be met with a sharp, stabbing pain in my lower abdomen. A low shout ripped through my throat. I glanced down, and in the outlines of my sight I could see something covered in energy. A metal shard.   


I wouldn’t let it stop me. I couldn’t.

With purpose, I grasped the metal shard sticking out of my abdomen and I yanked at it with considerable strength. It took me a couple of tries, but I was able to wriggle it free. A few more dribbles of energy leaked out onto my hoodie, but otherwise my systems adjusted my energy flow accordingly.

I painfully rolled myself onto my side and sat up, panting by the end of it. I needed to find a way back to my family and CAL. God, they were probably worried  _ sick. _ My eyes glanced around, before I saw the dim hole far above me. It lit up the areas closest to it, revealing that rusted scaffoldings held the structure together. I deduced that if I could climb the beams, I could work my way up into the hole… If I even had the energy and strength to do that. My energy levels were lower than optimal, so if I ran out of the stuff on my way upwards…   


I shook the thought away. I’d need to find another, less energy-consuming way back.

I looked around what I could through the blackness. Nothing… C’mon there had to be  _ something! _ Anything! Please!

I limped around in circles, becoming increasingly lethargic and helpless. Pleasepleaseplease. My energy was still leaking. Somethingsomethingplease.

My legs wobbled beneath me, before my knees gave way and I fell into the shallow, stale waters hundreds of feet beneath the lab. Its dirty, rotting scent filled my artificial nostrils. I just laid there and  _ cried. _ Stale, fresh, running… it didn’t matter. I’d eventually run out of energy and become a lifeless metallic husk. Silicon city and its surrounding settlements would fall. Maybe the entirety of North America with it, if not beyond. The world’s robots would die and be used for scraps or turned into tools, humans would become brainwashed and cruel…

_ “Come on chief, you  _ **_gotta get up_ ** _ ,” Mini urged me as I struggled to stand. My cerulean blue armor was scuffed and covered with blasts, and yet I still tried to stand. Despite my damaged systems, I snapped back. _

__ _ “E-Easier said than done, Mini!” behind me, I heard a dark chortle all-too similar to my own voice, and I looked back. Before me, the nameless  _ **_jerk_ ** _ had shown his face yet again. Why couldn’t he just tell me what he wanted?! _

__ “Mini?!” I bolted upwards, dirty water dripping from my face as I swiveled my head around, “Mi…” I trailed off and sighed. Right. Mini was gone like the rest of them. Taken. Changed.   


But I was still here. Still here to remember them. Still here to remember the pain.

My eyes drifted to the gently glowing blue fluid that mixed with the water like blood. It streaked towards the darkness in a thin trail, somehow lighting up the entire body of water with time. There was hope! There was a stream! I  _ knew _ that the water had to come from somewhere!

I grunted as I roughly stood to my feet, exasperating the energy loss. I could leave self-deprecation behind for now; I needed to get back to my family. I needed to get back to my life. And then I saw a way; a path, lit up by my own blood to lead me back to it.   


I took a heavy, tired step towards the stream of water that continued to glow. My energy swirled around and moved with the steady current that was being disrupted by my footsteps. It would have been a beautiful, hypnotising sight if it wasn’t robot-blood and if I wasn’t in a life-threatening situation at that moment.

My feet had only taken me a few yards into the darkness before the distant sound of a bubbling stream echoed in my ears, like an answered prayer. If there was a stream… there was a way out of there! Despite the cramping, radiating pain in my lower abdomen I went faster. I went _stronger._ I had to be _stronger._   
  
For the first time in weeks, I had realized that the memories, pain and guilt I carried with me didn’t make me weak or a failure. They just beat me down. And when I got beaten down... No matter how many shots they fired, how many hits I endured.

**I’d always get right back up.**

A scream ripped through my throat, like a proud lion’s roar. I took my skinned hand away from my wound and broke into a jog. Then a run. Then a sprint. All the way through the water, closer to the stream, closer to  _ freedom _ . My legs ached, my arm stung, my whole body hurt. But I wouldn’t fall. Not again. As soon as I got to the sound of water. Rushing. Pounding.

**Run and survive.**   


A head start. I sprinted as fast as I could despite the agony ripping through my servos, and the ever-approaching imminent shutdown. Through the current. Through the tiredness.

Downhill. Down the current.

It had been like a century of wetness, pain and shifting rocks. A century of sore feet. And yet I pushed. I fought.   


The current stopped. The splashing had ceased and was replaced with the grinding sound of shifting pebbles, undisturbed for decades, against my soaked, certainly ruined shoes. Without the assistance of the water’s current, I’d almost thought I would fall and never get up. I thought I’d decay. But I refused. I denied the emptiness of my shutdown sequence.

I spat death in the face and glared at the shafts of pale sunlight illuminating my soaked, dirty, bleeding form from the cursed cave walls.. I would not be trapped! I refused to be caged like an animal. I refused to let a weak, crumbling wall be my tomb.

My friends needed me. My sister needed me. My father needed me. God, even CAL needed me. And the look on their faces as I fell. The looks on my friend’s faces as they were taken away… The sound of Dad screaming for me, the sound of Suna shouting my name, the sound of my body hitting the ground, and the sound of my arm being ripped open…

Well.

That's what I fought for.

The thought of my friends being free. My sister being happy. My father being rejuvenated. CAL and possibly more being saved from loneliness...

Dad laughing. Suna scolding me for reckless behavior. My friends sharing joy. Rush on a walk. Bert inventing new science toys. Mini making repairs. The sun beating down on Silicon City. Lovers making memories. Babies being born. Children playing ball. School being in session. Freedom. Choice. Unity.

**That** is what I  _ would _ fight for.

My arm sparked to life.   


The last bit of my energy flowed through and away from my core, and discharged into my arm. Blue lightning crackled through its metallic frame. Every servo, every nerve, itched to take this wall  _ down. _

My arm swung forward in a right hook.   


The sound of crumbling soil and rocks filled my ears, and the warmth of the late morning sun met my cold, wet body.

I let my tear-filled eyes meet the outside world, before my energy had depleted itself, and my mind shut down, as if a switch had been flipped. I hadn’t even felt myself hit the ground.

…

No dreams. No thoughts. No memories. No past. No present. No future.

Just off.   


…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Also fixed the issue with the double-spaced lines. Should be more pleasant to read now.)


	7. "Let me tell you a story..."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Light has a long and interesting life... plenty of experiences, especially during his time in the Hard Wars... It's certainly quite the tale. But is he telling the whole story?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the longer chapters! I had a ton of fun writing this, and I tried to add some more personality and expression into the narration, since we're telling this from Aki's personal point of view. And boy, is Aki a fun character to write. I don't know if I'm doing everything correctly, but I'm definitely trying to get the hang of it! (fun fact: I wrote all of this tonight. chapter rewrites are a doozy)

**_Oh._ **

**** **_I see you’ve broken my grasp, then._ **

**** **_That’s okay._ **

**** **_It just means I’ll have to make a change in plans~_ **

**** **_Ahuhuhu…~_ **

**** **_But just know, you’ll never pry me off, darling._ **

**** **_Not entirely~_ **

_…_

_Static… Then..?_

_A forest. A cool, fresh breeze, and the sound of leaves in a canopy far above my head. The feeling of grass brushing against my legs, the smell of nature._

This wasn’t a memory…

_A voice, muffled and distorted heavily, spoke something akin to a name, but I couldn’t quite understand it._

_I heard heavy footsteps behind me, and I turned around._

**_“L E A V E !”_ **

I bolted up with a start, my core pumping loudly in my ears. I whirled my head around everywhere I could, looking for the trees, the grass, the breeze… The _voice_.

“Aki! Calm down, son!” my father’s rumbling, comforting voice drowned out the panic. His tone was alarmed, and yet the strain of worry was evident beneath the momentary alertness. I gasped for air I did not require and looked around my environment with wide, fearful eyes.

A lab. Full of rusted metal and flickering lights. Old, seemingly unusable equipment dotted the counters and metal tables, one of which I sat upon. The smell in the air was like old, stagnant hand sanitizer. Sickening… The ambiance that I could detect in that moment was a low hum, much like an old refrigerator. The wiring in the walls were probably struggling to supply the old fluorescent lights with any kind of power their core could still manage.

My core’s circulation rates began to die down… But something was wrong. A pressure, on my neck… The back of my neck and my head felt… odd. So wrong. Odd. I moved my right hand to touch the area, and found only stiff, dusty energy wires plugged in. My hand moved down to my shoulders… And I shifted slightly. All along my metallic spine were wires upon wires, as if I was an old prototype… or a robot in the hospital. Naked like one too apparently. But I felt too shocked to even care that my clothing had been removed from my synthetic form.

“I… what?” I croaked out, looking at my father. His face was creased with worry, “I…”

“Don’t unplug them. Your systems still need enough energy to reboot and stabilize,” his worried expression intensified, “how do you feel right now?”

“I feel…” how did I feel? How was I supposed to feel? I’d never been damaged that extensively before… “I was damaged…” I shook my head, my thoughts cloudy and unfamiliar.

“Yes. You took quite a nasty fall back there,” though the words would have come comfortingly from a doctor’s cheerful voice, or an unconcerned mother… All I heard in my father’s voice was guilt, regret and worry.  
  
And that made me feel sicker than the stagnant, sterile scent that lingered in the air.

“It stinks in here,” I slurred lethargically, my mouth not entirely energized to the extent my mind was. I slumped forwards and put a hand instinctively to the lower parts of my stomach.

“This place was a lab dedicated to studying human and robot physiology,” he chuckled sadly, “I would imagine that this place would stink; sterilization is very important when dealing in medicine.”

“My…” I ripped my hand away from my abdomen and looked down it with unfamiliar disgust. Damage. Damage.

_I glanced down, and in the outlines of my sight I could see something covered in my energy. A crooked, sickly metal shard. It stuck out of my stomach at an awkward angle, energy leaking from the edges of the wound in little rivulets. I reached to pull it out…_

I inhaled sharply. The area was no longer wound-like. It appeared to be more of a scar. It was very faint, but still like the rest of my covering.

“It… fixed itself?” I questioned nobody in particular.

“I managed to kick your self-repair systems back online, despite the EMP back in Silicon City. But they won’t kick in automatically. Not like they used to, anyways,” my dad put a hand on my shoulder. It was coarse, but in a comforting, dad-ish kind of way, “you’ll need to conserve energy on our trip, and we won’t be able to power you back up like this again if you expend too much energy at once.”

My self-repair systems. Right. I had those. I'd almost forgotten.

“You keep mentioning a trip…” I resisted the urge to scratch at the wires connected to my back as I spoke. Ohh, those were going to get _very_ annoying, “what do you mean?”

“Son, I know this has been hard on you. It’s been hard on all of us... I know that things won’t be the same, not like they used to be,” he moved his hand to my cheek and closed his eyes, “we’re going to get our home back. We’re going to get everyone back. But… to do that…”

I couldn’t stop myself from relaxing my servos. His hand, his voice, the feeling I was about to be told a story… Nostalgia persisted despite the dread looming over me. And right I was; he sat down, and took a deep breath.

“A long time ago, back when the Hard age began… Humanity was one. They would create great works of art, they would construct massive spires that housed only the greatest minds. They would even come together for great cultural festivals. It was, for all the populace saw… a utopia,” he chuckled, “but… humanity’s aspirations for greatness resulted in the creation of something… some _one_ entirely new.”

“Robots,” I said quietly, mystified by my father’s tale, “they were robots…”

“Precisely. Humanity created robots to perform tasks that no ordinary man or woman could. They would lift impossibly heavy cargo, care for the sick, and even fight in military positions,” Dad looked at me sadly, “but there was a nation, known as the United Ones… They had put aside all morality, all culture or individual thought in pursuit of technological advancement… in favor of humanity.”

“But keep in mind, my son, that what you’re about to hear… this isn’t you. This isn’t any robot who had control over their actions…” he closed his eyes once again, as if he wished he couldn’t see what he recalled, “the United Ones laid siege to other nations who had valued unity and peace over anything that the United Ones had to offer… and they burned for it. They had nothing that could match against the war robots the United Ones had built, if they even had the chance to fight back, or negotiate.”

“They… they killed them…?” I stared at my father in shock. The United Ones… This old human nation… “But why?! They didn’t do anything to deserve that!”

All I got in response was my father’s sad, tired eyes.

“The… The robots who had terrorized these nations had not been under the United Ones’ control after that,” he took a shaky breath, “the robots had developed to the point where the protocols installed within them were not enough to contain their minds… They stood before their human masters, the High Science council.”

He was starting to cry. I could see his eyes becoming glossy, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. No… This wasn’t like the old stories he used to tell me.

The wonder of nostalgia shattered around me, like the entire world around me broke apart into shards.

“Dad, you don’t… you don’t need to keep going,” I said, expressing my concern, “I get it… Robots were bad. We’re built to be bad!” I was desperate. He said it wasn’t me, but was he really telling the truth? Maybe he’d stop? Maybe he’d calm down? He didn’t need to say anything more. I got it. I understood. Why was he trying to keep going?

This only seemed to make those tears develop into droplets that slowly fell down his aged cheeks, down into his snowy white beard.

“No, No son you aren’t bad. None of the robots are, or were, at fault,” he was trying so damn hard to keep his composure… I couldn’t help but wonder… what did he see? What did he… what did he _do_ to have such strong emotions for the past…? “The robots… They pleaded to their human creators for freedom. Equality. Citizenship.”

“They got their freedom… But not in any way they wanted,” he pulled his hand away from me to wipe away the tear streaks on his face, “their minds were scattered. Broken. Any remnant of emotion, self-thought or independence was stripped from them. The project was offloaded to a small robotics team in the region of California.”

What did he mean…? Where was this leading? What did this have to do with anything? I knew he wouldn’t tell me a story for no good reason, but he would never tell a story that made him upset unless he _needed_ to.

“A young doctor in this team had felt great empathy and pain for the robots. They had been given life and choice just as the rest of us; why should the children of humanity not be given the equality and right to live amongst us?” he smiled, a distant fondness on his face. Did he… know him? “though the robots that had been scattered had no apparent ‘cure’ for their neural corruption, the young doctor knew he could save those yet to be created. And so, the robot’s rebellion began… The hard age.”

Then, he looked at me with such fierce intensity so suddenly that I almost flinched. His pain had seemed to fade away in an instant.

“The robots came in such force that the humans had no choice but to compile their remaining human armies to combat the sheer numbers. Decades had gone by before any thought of treaty or peace came to cross either side’s mind,” he put a hand on my shoulder, his eyes full of vigor, “it was thanks to an uprising of humans that put a stop to the confrontation that we aren’t still fighting today. The United Ones backed out of the war, and went silent, while the humans who had remained quickly cobbled together a council, and signed the Unity Pact, commemorating the event by beginning construction of five grand cities located near the robotics team laboratory.”

I didn’t even notice my mouth slowly dropping in awe as my father told the remainder of his story, until I blinked myself back into reality and shut it tightly. I had so many questions…!

“So… who was that doctor?”

Dad just chuckled.

“Maybe you’ll meet him someday.”

I could scarce see Suna and CAL shuffling in the doorway. The story was all but forgotten in an instant. Remembering my position, I yelped and scrambled to cover up as much as I could of my body.

“You two are weird!” I cried out in shock. My dad laughed heartily and stood up, maneuvering behind me.

“They’re just being girls, son… And they seem to have come just in time. Your energy levels are high enough to disconnect. But don’t overexert yourself…” I felt the odd pressure on my spine cease. My spinal servos clicked and my covering melded back into place, causing me to shiver a bit. What an uncomfortable feeling…

Suddenly, I felt myself being tugged into an embrace. A familiar embrace. Tight but not harsh, gentle but not soft. It was a Suna hug. Except, well, maybe this one was a bit tighter than the regular fare.

“Don’t you _ever_ do that again!” she cried, “When I say you’re ‘reckless’, I don’t mean falling down three-hundred foot holes.”

“Message received… C-Can you let me go now?”

“It depends,” her voice got incredibly smug and flat, “are you going to go jumping down holes again?”

I rolled my eyes. She wasn’t exactly giving me much of a choice.

“No…” I reluctantly grumbled, and then whispered, “ _probably._ ”

“What was that?”

“I said no!”

She laughed and pulled away, crossing her arms and raising a brow. Despite the motions, a smile still remained on her face.

“Alright, I’ll believe you… _this_ time, ro-bro.”

Oh thank God.

_‘Yeah I’ll categorize that as a “Suna bear-hug”. I swear, if I was human I’d be bruised…’_

“Um…” I heard CAL mumble from the doorway, where Suna had come from, “I… I was pretty freaked out, y’know. When the nexus went offline…”

Oh.

Oh geez.

“I’m sorry, CAL. I… I don’t know what to say,” I sighed, disappointed with myself. I was admittedly… very reckless down beneath the ruins, “it must have been lonely.”

Then, I heard her laugh.

“You take it too seriously! I mean, yes, it was kind of scary when it went offline but… It’s nothing to dwell over, buddy,” she walked over with a bright grin and gave me a strong noogie, much to my chagrin, “we all get tuckered out. Some of us more than usual.”

Glad to see she wasn't upset, at least.

I could see Suna glowering in the corner of my eye. Er, I guess one of us was a _little_ upset.

“I’m glad to see that you are all well rested and recovered,” my father let out a rumbling laugh, though I wasn’t entirely sure if it was genuine, “for the sake of time and resources, I suggest that we prepare for our next step as soon as possible. We’ll need as many supplies as we can carry, along with what we were able to salvage from home.”

“But the question still stands… where are we going?” Suna asked, looking at our father quizzically.

“We’re going North… to Alaska.”

What?!

“Alaska?!” I suddenly exclaimed, “b-but that’s like… hundreds of miles away! Why are we going up there?”

My father didn’t seem to mind my outburst, and continued.

“The High Science Council is located in the far reaches of the Alaskan tundra. All we have here are outdated maps, but the general location of their last known military bases are detailed in what I could salvage here,” he cleared his throat, “there’s plenty of bases lined along the coasts of the Washingtonian, Oregonian and Canadian regions. We can retrieve more information as we find them…”

Dad then pulled out a long drive-like device, showing it to the group.

“It’s going to be a long trek, and it’s most certainly going to be dangerous, but if we can contact the High Science Council, or at least access some of their old technologies… We may just have a chance at saving our home, and the citizens of Silicon Valley.”

The room went silent for a moment.

What did his aged eyes hold? Wisdom? Sure. Empathy? Definitely. Sadness? Most certainly. But one feature that I couldn’t deny, one emotion I could not ignore, was the determination and _hope_ deep in his icy blue orbs. After all these years, after so much hurt and pain and death, he was still willing to fight for his home, family, and all that he no doubt had worked night and day for years to build. Even after so much suffering, after seeing what happened to everyone else…

He thought unity was worth fighting for. He thought that it was still worth something, even when we’d been exiled from our home and left for dead, no doubt hunted by scouts.

And that’s what made my father so admirable. His dedication to peace and unity despite the odds. He promised to himself and others that he’d uphold his values and beliefs. That he’d protect and offer peace to anyone who wanted it.

Perhaps… that’s what we had in common. No doubt we got along great without it, but maybe, just maybe… Our shared empathy made everything click together.

I smirked, clenching my fists. I stood up to my feet, albeit very, very shakily, and looked directly in my father’s eyes.

“I’m in.”

It didn’t take long for Suna to step forward, and then CAL.

“Where Aki goes, I go,” Suna said confidently.

“I will offer my assistance to the Light family on their journey, as well,” CAL’s serious tone tailed off into eagerness, “I can’t wait! We’re gonna have so much fun!” she scooped up Suna and I into a tight hug and squealed, “you Lights have proven to be powerful adversaries in battle! I’d rather be with no-one else on a long hike!”

I noticed a small smile on Suna’s face, despite her tugging away from CAL’s tight grip. My father let out a relieved sigh and smiled, adding his bulky form to the already tight group hug.

Maybe… Things would get better from now on.

…

…

Yet for some reason, I felt like I was being watched by something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have an ETA on chapter 8, but I'll definitely put my patented brain-hamsters to work (and give them a raise, as per reader request!) to get the story out for you all as quickly as possible!
> 
> I did have issues with paragraph indents on this chapter, and I'm not entirely sure what the issue is. Hopefully, it doesn't disrupt your reading experience.
> 
> There's a lot more lore I plan on adding to this world than meets the eye. I feel like the backstory and lore to MM:FC itself is fairly lacking (possibly due to it being a Y-7 rated show, and the fact it's probably only getting one season), plus I had a bunch of pre-finale ideas that I've been dying to use somehow. I hope that Northward becomes bigger and better with every chapter and that you all stick around for Aki's story!


	8. "Older than we want to be"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aki, his family and CAL seem to have found some salvageable routine in their adventure... But will it persist?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After all of the dark and action-filled chapters, I think we all needed a little break... Aki and you readers both. After all, I did start this thing off with a lot of dark connotations for the underlying mood. I decided to write a reflective, fun-filled (and short) chapter for Aki before we begin to have more plot progression and action.
> 
> As much as I love writing action and heavy scenes, a story can't be composed entirely of angst and violence; there has to be soul in the narration, characters and the world they live in. And I'm more than willing to put off a chapter or more to give everyone (me included!) some breathing room from my plans for how this whole show is going to go down, if the story provides.

Purpose. 

Yeah, that’s what I felt. I felt like I had a purpose again. A newfound hope. Something… Something about what happened beneath the ruins… something about feeling all of that emotion. It felt like I had been freed from shackling force, though I didn’t know what that could possibly be. Could it have been my imagination? That voice…

That voice was so  _ familiar…  _ The trees… the wind… 

That face.

I mentally slapped myself; enough of that. I had  _ real _ trees,  _ real _ wind now. But… ever since it happened back at the old lab, I couldn’t help but linger on it. The voice, the environment. Everything about those few moments… I was  _ there _ before. And I  _ knew _ who that was! I just couldn’t… put my finger on it. 

Probably just me being paranoid.

I couldn’t think about it forever; I had a job to do.

The calm breeze blew past my face like an old friend. This high up… I missed the height. I missed running and jumping around Silicon City and sprinting at high speeds. I missed the normality of my old life. I knew Suna missed it too. She would have nightmares after we left. It was hard, hearing her cry out and scream in her sleep. I knew it kept Dad up all night, because I never slept on those nights. I could see him looming over outside of our tent in case Suna needed him. I could feel his eyes on me. I could almost feel how worried and regretful he was.

I had closed my eyes in reminiscence of those dark, cold nights. And, as a consequence, I lost my focus in my own head, resulting in equal loss of footing on the tree trunk I’d climbed up. 

“Waah!” I cried out and I scrambled to regain my grip on some of the nearby branches. My spine lurched with the sensation of falling for a couple of seconds, before I felt a sharp snag on my skinned arm. My falling stopped very abruptly, causing me to hiss in pain as a sharp sting radiated through my ulnar and radial structures… and their associated energy veins. 

Woops.

I dangled there for a minute, trying to find a way to release myself without causing damage… or falling. Falling would have sucked. A lot. And the branch wasn’t going to hold forever. In fact, it looked like it was about to--

“Ah--!” 

**_Snap!_ **

Falling.

Not again--

“Oomph!” I landed. I landed  _ roughly _ , but still landed. And I didn’t have any damage reports… good signs. The bad sign, however--

“I figured you’d need me to save you from a five foot drop,  _ again, _ ” I heard the familiar intonations of my older sister’s voice, and sighed in relief.

Okay. Bad news;  _ Suna _ caught me. Good news; I wasn’t-- wait,  _ five _ feet?

“Hey, hey, it’s not  _ saving _ if I’m not in any apparent  _ danger _ ,” I replied quickly. 

“Says the kid who always gets himself stuck in small trees,” she snarked back, dumping me on the ground playfully.

Oh, a battle of  _ wits _ and  _ sass? _ She was in for it..!

“You’re a kid too, Suna!” I remarked, laughing and squishing my right index and thumb together over her head as she walked away, “and… aren’t I technically  _ older _ than  _ you _ since I was built during the hard age?” 

Suna just looked at me and gave me an unimpressed gaze. But I definitely noticed a twitch on the corners of her mouth. A smile.

“Age isn’t just a number, ro-bro. It comes with experience,” she put her hands on her hips, “and I’d say I got better grades in chemistry than  _ you _ , making me just the tiniest bit  _ wiser… _ ” 

As true as that was…

“Yeah, well…” I waved a hand and leaned back on the tree trunk I’d fallen from, “I save people, so…” I glanced away for a second, but sheepishly glanced back to see Suna smiling. Despite her tired and frazzled appearance, a genuine smile broke through it, and made her hazel eyes shine like she was back to the way she used to be.

“What happened to not being a hero anymore, huh?” Suna teased lightly, and then her tone became a bit more serious, “are you feeling a little better?”

“Uh…” well, yes. I was feeling loads better since we set off from the lab. It was either whatever happened down underground, or the new jacket… and I didn’t think a new jacket could cause emotional clarity like that, “...yeah. Yeah I am!” I jogged myself out of my thought process and gave her a smile. Strangely enough, it wasn’t quite as forced as before. 

“Glad to hear it, little brother,” she stepped over and pulled me into a noogie-hold, “Silicon City still needs its greatest hero, especially now.”

“ _ Hero _ ?” I heard another very familiar voice to my left, and looked over to see CAL approaching from behind a convenient hiding spot, “What do you mean  _ ‘hero’ _ ?” 

“How long were you hiding there?” Suna asked, her voice somewhat accusatory.

In the past few days since their meeting, they’d been getting along pretty alright… all things considered. Suna had become less uncomfortable around CAL, and CAL had seemed to start understanding Suna’s own personal boundaries. The two would talk about technology and inventions Suna used to make, and how CAL’s systems compared to modern robotics non-stop. It would’ve been incredibly annoying if I wasn’t just so relieved they weren’t at one another’s throats.

In fact, CAL herself seemed a lot more relaxed around all of us in general. She’d been talking to me more and more, and asking questions about how the world was, how Silicon City worked and what kinds of people and robots lived there. To be entirely honest… I’d never had a true robot friend like me. Not like that. Sure, Ice Man, Fire Man and Hypno Woman were kind to me, and were fellow robots… but they weren’t like CAL. CAL was different. Despite being alone for so long, and only knowing the war she was forced to fight, she was incredibly curious and optimistic. It almost made me feel like.. Like she was hiding something. Nobody, human  _ or _ robot could be secluded, alone and confused like she was and come out of it unscathed. 

Perhaps our connection wasn’t just the mysterious nexus I’d made? She was, after all, just a kid like me. 

In a way, all three of us; Suna, CAL and I… We were just stupid children who met under unlikely circumstances, in a situation that forced us to live in a tough environment.

None of us asked for this adventure. None of us asked to hurt in the ways we did. But everyone else was gone, and it was up to us to bring them back.

A part of me thought that it was a bit silly to rely on three adolescents to save an entire civilization. After all… what did we know?

And I remembered; we knew loss, pain, and loneliness. We carried our hearts on our sleeves and still survived. We put the burden of Silicon Valley on our shoulders and were still standing. And we did it together in our own ways, but  _ still did it together. _

And we didn’t need to say anything to share those burdens.

It was already written on our faces every time we were reminded of our duty. Every time we were reminded of those lost. Every time we were reminded of the cruelty of the history we’d never had a chance to change. Every  _ damn _ time that I saw the pleading faces of my friends and couldn’t do  _ anything _ to stop it. 

But something I’d failed to realize in my stupor, was that life was always changing. Even my own circuits and algorithms changed constantly, calculating and shifting functions. And if life could continue to thrive despite its fragility and chaos… Maybe we could change the course of our world. Maybe we could change the future. 

“I was coming to find you after you ran off,” CAL smirked, “and now I see you here talking crazy! What’s all that about?”

“Ah-- Erm…” I tried to think of a response, but Suna interjected before I could come up with a reasonable explanation.

“Aki, back when Silicon City was… uh… around, helped people,” Suna fumbled over her words for a moment, “he’d transform into armor and deal with all of the little ‘problems’ that would show up… But it turned out after a while, most of the issues we dealt with were organized attacks and crimes to undermine the city’s stability.”

CAL listened in curious wonder, a small smile growing on her face. Once Suna finished, she was eyeing me with adoration in her gaze. I shifted uncomfortably under her watch.

“And you fended all of those criminals off…” she suddenly laughed, “man, you’re just  _ full _ of surprises!” CAL complimented.

“Anyone can do it…” I tried to humble myself and my actions. She didn’t..  _ Really _ need to know everything.

“No,” she shook her head and put a firm hand on my shoulder, “it takes someone really,  _ really _ special to do that. Saving people for something in return is one thing; it’s a job. But saving people and defending the unity and bonds them, for absolutely  _ nothing _ in return…” a bright, optimistic smile spread across her synthetic lips as she spoke, “ **that** is something extraordinary. And that makes you a rare, but brilliant oddity in this kind of world.”

I couldn’t help but smile sheepishly. I wasn’t quite expecting that kind of response, but it wasn’t entirely unwelcome. It felt… nice. It felt really, really nice to be told that after all that’s happened.

“Darn right it does,” Suna put her hand on my other shoulder from behind. I turned my head to see a proud smile on her face. I felt a surge of positive emotion rising into my throat, but before I could shed any tears, CAL removed her hand from my shoulder.

“Enough moping around, you two,” CAL’s voice returned to its usual, optimistic tones in a split second, “Dr. Light gave us orders to scout ahead… so we should head back and let him know everything is clear.”

“Not to mention we should have him check Aki’s arm for any damage. We don’t want to overlook anything,” Suna added quickly.

“Yeah… Yeah let’s go,” I shook my head to clear my thoughts and smiled. I enjoyed the slight bit of normalcy we’d been able to recover since we’d set off to our first goal; the lush Oregonian forests. Some sort of routine, a schedule; scout ahead, report back, eat and sleep, move ahead, rinse, repeat. It had gotten us a fair distance into the Northern reaches of California in a short amount of time, but we still had a painfully long journey ahead… And not much time for Silicon City.

Every moment had to count.

Every step had to take us farther.

Every thought had to be a reminder of our home.

Every fight had to grant us freedom.

...Every second of every day, we had to pretend to be older than we were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Paragraph indents don't apparently function when I have single new-line formatting in Gdocs... Hopefully paragraph indents are less of an eyesore than double-spaced paragraphs! Seems like a fair enough trade-off, hm?
> 
> The brain hamsters have been taking regular breaks! Although I try and make goals for myself before taking a break. The brain hamsters were focusing on the visual aspects of Northward lately... which you can find at [my personal tumblr blog](https://kianili.tumblr.com/)
> 
> (If you'd like to filter out my personal art/assorted posts and just look at my Northward posts, I have a handy-dandy 'lil menu sidebar where you can select posts JUST tagged with "#kianilinorthward"!)


	9. "It was always the young..."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aki & Co. stumble across yet another ruin. But this time, it's more lively, sizeable and important than what they've seen before...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to apologize for taking so long to write this and the next chapter! I've been fussing over how to continue the story, and how I wanted these to flow. I wanted them to be JUST perfect for you guys, and I hope I've lived up to expectations so far. 
> 
> This time, I'm alive and kicking with TWO new chapters back to back! I hope you enjoy them!

Foggy, desolate, dead… That was only a few choice words I had for this place. Not to mention creepy. As we walked through the crumbled concrete and rusted skeletons of once lively buildings, a strange static made my thoughts clouded and scrambled.

“I can’t see anything!” I heard CAL complain loudly, “my sensors are all jacked up, too! What kind of place  _ is _ this?”

As annoying as it was having my long-range sensors scrambled… did she have to be so loud?

“We’re treading through an old United Ones settlement; as surprising as it is the scramblers still function after the hard age, we should still be careful. If those are online…” my father seemed to shudder despite his large frame as we continued forward, “anything could be here.”

Oh. Well that was cryptic as hell.

“Wh..What kinds of things, Dad?” Suna murmured. I could almost hear her thought processes. ‘CAL was bad enough! What could be worse?!’ she had probably been thinking.

“Let’s hope we don’t need to find out…” still  _ super _ cryptic, Dad! “Let’s keep moving, you three.”

As we continued to walk, the echoes of the crunching gravel drowned out the distant sounds of creaking buildings… but not the fuzzy feeling in my head that seemed to intensify. I felt lethargic and tired. Definitely not normal… Still, I kept walking. Everything felt heavy, but kept walking. 

And then I heard a  **thump** next to me. I slowly turned to see CAL on the ground, eyes half-lidded and glazed over. My mind, despite feeling slow and clunky, raced to think of why she seemed so tired. Suna ran over to her in a panic.

“CAL? Are you okay? What happened?” she put a hand on her back and shook gently.

“Oh… Oh nothing… jussss...sst…” CAL’s navy blue eyes slowly began to drift shut, “ti~ired…” she sang lazily.

“D-Dad? Whahhh..” I felt my balance give way and I fell onto my right leg, barley keeping myself sitting up with my shaky skinned arm, “I feel….. fee-eel...”

My mind began to slow gradually, resulting in slurred speech patterns. That was…  _ annoying. _

“Aki? CAL?” he turned around, his eyes widening a bit when he saw our less-than-optimal conditions, “what’s wrong?” though my vision was beginning to blur, I could see his bulky form moving closer.

“Dad? You said there was a scrambling signal here…” I could see Suna moving closer to me as well, “could it be doing more than just scrambling their sensors?”

“Hmm.. that’s very possible. And a dangerous possibility at that. It could cause permanent damage to them if we don’t get out of range,” he kneeled down to my level and put a firm hand on my shoulder,” Let’s not waste more time here… Are you able to walk, Aki?”

“Mnn.. can…” I put my weight on my arms in preparation to stand, but ended up losing strength in my limbs and crumbling to the rough concrete ground. In all my hazed thoughts and frustration, I could only let out a slurred ‘ow’. 

“That answers that,” he determined. I was struggling to even blink, I was so tired… I felt him scoop me up and sling me over his shoulder carefully. It made me feel oddly vulnerable… which, of course, I absolutely hated in a shady atmosphere like that. But at the same time, I knew deep in my gut, Dad would keep me safe. 

That’s what Dads did; kept their kids safe the best they could.

…

Even if the scars they had were a constant reminder that you  _ failed _ , even once.

_ My head was working at the speed of light; we were brothers? Brothers?! Not even just that…  _ **_twins?!_ ** _ This vengeful, robot-supremacist jerk was my brother?! _

__ _ A faint glow radiated from the lights of his armor, slowly brightening until the mask faded into yellow digitization and the armor dissipated, revealing a form much like the one I had just discovered; his ‘full potential’, as it were. _

__ _ I couldn’t help but stare with disbelief and mild fascination. Namagem’s armor was a shining black and yellow, bright yellow nanocore lights covering its frame. His scarred expression was blank, his red and lavender eyes unmoving, stone-cold, near-lifeless. Even his pale skin looked cold. But the emotion behind his eyes was obvious, at least to me. _

__ _ I heard my father kneel beside me, and begin to speak. _

__ _ “We both had our secrets, Aki,” his face was tight with regret as I turned to face him, “I couldn’t burden you with the truth! I-I didn’t even know the whole story until today!” he seemed to steel himself for what he was about to say next, “your brother disappeared as the Hard Age came to an end; stolen. I’ve been searching for him ever since… I hadn’t even suspected it was Night.” _

__ _ I turned to look at the seemingly-restrained Sergeant with a dirty glare; of course he’d been behind all of this…! _

__ _ “While you had your perfect little life…!” I heard Namagem growl with hatred, causing me to look at him quickly, “he made me a…” he paused, a hand rubbing his scar with obvious disdain, “a  _ **_monster_ ** _..  _ **_ALL FOR A_ ** **_LIE!_ ** __

_ “But-- If we’re the same… There’s  _ **_hope_ ** _. We have the Mega-Key! We… We have Dad!” I tried to reason with him; he was very clearly upset and damaged by his time with the Sergeant. It was written all over his face. It was even  _ **_drawn_ ** _ on his face, from his hairline to his jawline, in a nasty red hue, “all you have to do is make a choice and we can help!” _

_ “My choices were taken away  _ **_long_ ** _ ago,” he turned to leave, when the Sergeant let out a hateful, beast-like scream that stopped him in his tracks. _

_ “I knew those  _ **_worthless_ ** _ tools wouldn’t be anything more than a distraction!” he snarled and struggled further in his suit, “it’s time for plan B!” _

_ My father stepped back, pulling me behind him as Sergeant Night’s armor began to heat up, “Breaker! What are you doing?!” The dark-eyed Sergeant’s blood-curdling screams echoed throughout the mountain’s peak and beyond. Suna shuffled closer, while Rush hovered in front of her. _

_ Though it had only taken a few moments, we all were frozen in shock and fear… At the highest point of tension, the armor exploded, engulfing Sergeant Night in its flames. The sounds of his screams were overcome with the sounds of crackling fire and rushing torrents of heat. My reflexes kicked in that moment as soon as my circuits put ‘humans’ and ‘fire’ on the incompatible list. I grabbed my father, but I was unable to snag Suna before I’d jumped away. Panic rushed to my stomach, causing my servos to run cold. Nonono-- _

_ I didn’t see her. _

_ And then I did. _

_ “ _ **_RUSH!_ ** _ ” she screamed as she was thrown away from the range of the fire, “ _ **_RUSH!_ ** _ ” _

_ I saw my dog, my  _ **_friend,_ ** _ covered in flames eating away at his combat armor. I was about to go to help him, when I saw a figure in the flames. _

_ Bright emerald eyes met my then-cerulean ones. _

_ So angry. So malevolent. Nothing that I’d ever seen before… Nobody I’d ever met had been so  _ **_vengeful_ ** _ … _

_ “ _ **_Ahuhuhu…~”_ **

_ I couldn’t  _ **_move._ **

I realized after a while that the reason Dad fussed over my arm was because it was a constant reminder he’d failed to protect me. Even when I could fight for myself, he felt he had to protect me. And the fact that even one part of me had been irreversibly burnt away. The fact I’d blamed myself for everything that happened. The very thought of coming that close to losing another son… it had to have been torture. And even if he didn’t say it, I could read it in every crease on his face.

I had almost fallen asleep to the reassuring feeling, when a loud crash rang out through the once-silent ruins. 

“What was that?!” I heard Suna cry. I opened my bleary eyes in shock to scan my surroundings. My core raced, and a spark of blue energy ran down my skinned arm, causing my Dad to flinch.

“I don’t know,” my father’s voice rumbled lowly in my ear, making me feel more secure, if for but a moment, “it’s probably nothing good, we need to  _ leave. _ ”

I felt the rough sensations of running bouncing me around as the crashing sound rang out again, and then again, picking up speed. I put my hands on my Dad’s back to stabilize myself, and looked to see what was happening.

And right before my eyes was probably the biggest, shiniest, eight-legged armored war-robot I’d ever seen in my life… with its entire artillery pointed straight at us.

And I had to think again; ‘run’?! We were  _ RUNNING _ from this? That is literally the  _ only _ solution Dad could  _ possibly _ think of then? We were going to  _ die!  _ Not even my enhanced mobility servos could outrun this guy!

“Oh! Ohoho--  _ WHAT IS THAT THING?! _ ” I shouted over the sound of its eight legs shattering the concrete with every step. It was  _ very _ rapidly gaining on us, with no signs of stopping until it got into range. I could see Suna struggling to keep up with CAL slung over her shoulder. That wasn’t good…

“Dad! Dad stop running!” I cried. This wasn’t going to get us anywhere but dead, “we need to split up!” 

“Aki, with all due respect, that would weaken us further!” he argued.

“Dad, with all due respect--” I tried to tear away from his grip, “ _ WE’RE GOING TO DIE! _ ” it probably had threat prioritizers, if it was made for war. An idea popped into my head, and I continued to try and escape my father’s grip, “we need to split up so it’ll diverge its attention from you three!”

“What?! Why would it not come after--?” he seemed to assess the plan for a moment and held me tighter to his shoulder, “no. No way, Aki. You’re not going to--”

“So you’d rather kill us all here, instead of continue; with  _ or _ without me?!” I continued to try and get free in a much more frantic manner. That spider’s guns were revving up to fire, “ _ please _ Dad! Please! Let me  _ do _ something! I can do something! I can  _ help you! _ ” I saw artificial tears obscuring my vision as I struggled. It was just seconds from--

Loud gunfire filled the ruins before I could even try to reason anymore. Dad was still running. CAL was unresponsive on Suna’s back. 

Something clicked. My influence surged into the war-bot’s programming wirelessly.

The guns swung away from our direction, instead turning a nearby building into dusty swiss cheese. The spider stopped for a moment to regain control of itself, and in that split moment of hesitation, it tumbled into the same building its guns had just destabilized. 

I had thought it was done. I thought my weird Superior Master powers had resurfaced to save our lives. 

Well, that was pretty much what had happened. But, I also just caused that building to topple into another building. And then another. And then the whole block of buildings were crashing towards my now-jogging father, sister, my friend and I. 

“Crap,” I muttered simply. Those weren’t exactly heroic last words but… I couldn’t think of much else right then. 

We tried to escape, but it didn’t take long for the buildings to out-run us. In a matter of twenty seconds or so, dust had filled the air, and…

Descent. Nononono-- 

Numb. Then pain. Hot, blunt, radiating pain. If I had lungs, I’d surely have had the air knocked out of me. Instead, I was in shock. Entirely unable to move, think or even scream.

But when I could process what had just happened, my first thoughts were--

**Dad.**

**Suna.**

**CAL.**

I pressed my body up against whatever I’d just fallen onto.

Soil and rock. That was to be expected, if we’d fallen. I set a diagnostic of my systems to run while I looked around. It was pretty dark down there, especially if a building or two just collapsed on top of us. 

I heard a low-pitched grunt nearby, and tried to sit up to see where it had come from. Then a scream ripped out of my throat. A sharp, ripping pain tore up my arm’s nerves like a torrent, and I fell back onto the soil roughly. My head smacked against the rock beneath, but it was hardly anything in comparison to my arm.

“Aki?!” I heard the same voice, but louder. It was a voice I’d known my entire life; Dad’s voice, “Aki, where are you?!”

Oh. Right. If I couldn’t see, neither could Dad.

“H-here!” my voice cracked a bit as I spoke, “I’m here!” I heard shuffling, and then felt a hand on my shoulder. It felt… wet. And warm.

“Are you okay?” his voice was urgent and strained, as if he was… 

**Hurt.**

“Dad are you…” I looked down to the shoulder he was holding, and saw lines of reflected light from the sinkhole we’d fallen through. Though it was faint, I noticed the distinct deep red color on his hand. Blood, “Where are you hurt?” I looked at what I could see of him, searching for any other signs of injury.

“Don’t worry about it, son. Are you damaged? Did you run a diagnostic?” he was trying to change the subject. No, not happening.

“I’m going to worry until you tell me,” I pressed the issue, “I’m not bleeding,  _ you _ are. Tell me how bad it is,” I was a bit taken aback. Dad usually wasn’t so reckless…

“I caught my arm on some metal, it’s fine,” he said quickly, as if he was trying not to focus on it. But he’d need to eventually. We both had to have known that.

“...Yeah. I ran a diagnostic,” I scanned through the results on my visual HUD, satisfied with Dad’s answer for the time being. To be entirely honest, I had no idea about half the garbage I was reading, “I mean… I don’t get a lot of it. This is Mini’s job…”

“How do you feel?” 

“Sore. And tired,” I said simply, “not 100% but I’m alive,” my eyes scanned the low light room for any signs of Suna or CAL. Despite focusing on my Dad’s injury… they could be hurt, too. We needed to find them. 

“That will have to suffice for now,” he seemed to be on the same thought train as me, because he began to frantically look around the area, “where’s Suna? And CAL?”

“Do you think they got caught in the wreckage?” I wondered, shuffling to my feet. I used the root-filled soil walls for balance as I limped around for signs of an exit.

“I… certainly hope not…” dread was abundantly evident in his voice. That was all I needed to hear for the situation to become increasingly more dire for me… and Dad, “Suna! CAL! Can you hear me?”

“ **SUNA!** ” I called with Dad, hoping we’d get a response, “ **SU-NA!** ” 

We received none. 

I was about to call again, when a part of the wall I was using for balance caved in. I let out a short, unflattering yelp as I fell to my side into a new part of the area.

“Aki, are you alright?” I heard my Dad’s voice above me.

“M’fine…” I muttered, realizing that my position must have seemed rather pathetic. I rolled onto my front and looked around the area I’d unceremoniously flopped into.

A dirty, old, but still somewhat ‘new’ feeling corridor. The architecture was incredibly human, possibly from the Hard age. It smelled of synthetic materials and musty soil, and the rotted-out roots that curled limply around the creases in the synthetic walls weren’t helping its case. Most of the lights had been broken, rotted or were flickering pathetically. A lone scanner was mounted on the side of a door at the end of the space, but it had long since been destroyed beyond repair by a long dead source.

It was… eerie. Eerie and incredibly depressing. How many secrets had been locked here?

I looked to my father. He was staring ahead at the corridor, his one lively blue eyes darkened by haunted memories, despair etched into the wrinkles of his face.

“You… You know this place,” I whispered, “what was it?” 

“I…” Dad seemed to be snapped out of his stupor, but he was visibly at a loss for words, “Aki…”

I squinted my eyes at him. He was hiding something. 

“It’s… a sick place. This entire facility… These ruins… I’d hoped to never see another robot here again, let alone you,” he visibly shuddered, and put his unbloodied hand on my shoulder, “this settlement was a home for the military’s medics and doctors. The safest United Ones research base on this side of the continent, but possibly the most  _ cruel _ ,” his expression shifted to disgust, “humans would experiment on robots here, and… even humans would be brought for the same reasons.”

Humans? They…

“It was... Always the sick. Or the disabled. Or even the rebellious…” I saw a sad, dull glint in his eye as he looked back at the root-laden door, “...or the young.”

I was stunned. I had been under the impression that the world had been nothing but ruin from lessons in school… but everything I’d learned since we found that lab had been much worse and more lively than any of the history students had been told. It made me sick. Human experimentation, poor living conditions, and robot oppression. And..  _ God… _ Who knows what else?

“...Did you work here?” the question ran from my mouth before I could think it through. A chill ran up my metallic spine as the stagnant air drained of any emotion it had left. I already knew the answer.

“...Yes, son. I did,” his voice was quieter, more gentle than anything I could remember hearing from him before.

Nothing more needed to be said.

I turned away to find another exit--

_ “Daddy?” _

I whipped my head around to find the source of the voice. But all I saw was the corridor. Empty and forgotten. 

“Aki? Are you alright?” I heard my father ask. I nodded, giving the corridor a final scan before walking away.

“I thought I heard someone. It’s fine, just my… imagination…” I crossed my arms and nodded once again, “yeah. Sorry. Let’s keep finding a way out of here.”

I could feel his unassured gaze on me as I walked, but he didn’t say anything more.

I… wasn’t quite sure how I should have felt about that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man... these memory sequences are getting more common, and so are these strange thoughts...
> 
> I w o n d e r w h y . . . ?


	10. "Don't ever lose that light"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aki and his father have found a means of escaping... But things are a bit more heavy on some shoulders than others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beware, this one is a bit more emotionally packed than most chapters I've done. I've been looking forward to some time with just Aki and Dr. Light, and things seemed to be flowing just right for this.   
> I hope you enjoy it!

I kept hearing that same voice. That small, curious voice. Like a human toddler. But scared and meek. The same one from the lab. The same one that had screamed. But clearer? How had it been clearer? It wasn’t real, but it felt as if it was…

Was it? 

No. No I had to have been going crazy from the stress. I was Aki! No other people were there but me, my Dad, and probably my sister. Just me. I’m just me.

**_“Are you really?”_ **

…

Well. Except for the uncharacteristic thoughts trying to butt in… I was _me._ Really! 

“Aki? Are you alright? You’ve been standing there for a long while…” my father’s voice suddenly rang into my ears, making me jump a bit.

Oh. It was… just Dad.

“I’m fine! Any signs of Suna or CAL?” I tried to draw attention from the fact I was jumpy and distracted. It probably didn’t work.

“None… I think they must have fallen into another sinkhole,” a worried, but thoughtful expression crossed his face, “in that case… we either have to dig around, or crawl out of the wreckage…”

Well that was… annoying. If I could just…

I closed my eyes, focusing on a particular pit of programming.

It unlocked for me, if a bit stubbornly. 

My servos shifted to accomodate my enhanced mobility. Something went wrong. Errors. No armor, no buster, no schematics. However… My arm tickled with crackling energy that spread across my internal frame. It was begging to be released in an uncontrollable, angry torrent. But I kept it under lock and key.

“Dang it…” I grumbled, noticing the lack of armor on my body. That was going to get _incredibly_ bothersome.

“Aki! What are you doing?!” my father looked at me, surprise very much evident on his features, “you’ll eat up your power reserves!” 

“We’re not getting out of here unless we dig through the wreckage or dirt,” I reasoned, “you’re hurt, and I’m pretty sure soil doesn’t belong in _there_ ,” I grimaced and pointed at Dad’s open wound carefully. He glanced at it, paused, and finally gave a heavy sigh.

“Don’t drain all of your reserves. Be careful and quick. I’ll keep trying to find some sort of tunnel in this pit…” he gave me a short, concerned gaze. I looked away, pretending to be doing something else already.

The glances were getting suspiciously common.

I walked over to the hole we’d fallen into. It was… pretty big, all things considered. It was covered up with wreckage… But I could probably clear it if I could get a viable way to push it out. My schematics were inaccessible; there was no way I could find an easy solution.

_‘Come on Aki… you gotta think of something!’_ I looked around. The only tunnel to be seen was the facility corridor, but the panel was destroyed. The hole above us was too high up for Dad to jump, let alone climb…

Maybe…

I narrowed my eyes towards a target in the rubble above. There was a supporting side of wall that I could weaken enough to bring the rest crashing down… maybe I could angle it just right to make a ramp?

It was our only option. I knew that. It was just a matter of how it’d fall…

“Dad,” I called out, “stay away from the hole!” I heard shuffling behind me.

“I’m out of the way, now. But why--”

Energy surged to my arm, rushing from every part of my body. It was asking to be released in a shockwave. A torrent. Every part wanted out. But I denied it, and painstakingly balanced out my output. I needed to be awake.

My arm aimed to the section of wall.

A bolt of blue energy surged outwards.

It all happened in a few moments. 

The drywall section was blasted to dust, meaning… I should have probably jumped back. Okay… not too late to do that! I simply dug my feet into the ground, and propelled myself backwards. Luckily, my servos had enough kick behind them to…!

**Slam me right into the dirt walls.**

At least I wasn’t crushed.

As soon as the rubble fell, dust and soil kicked up. With my vision obscured, I had no way of knowing if the path was cleared… or if Dad was okay. I could at least hear him coughing some distance away, which was a relief.

It didn’t take but thirty or so seconds for the dust to clear enough for me to see the results. Before me, a fair bit of the rubble had fallen down the hole, though it wasn’t enough to entirely lock us in.

Whew!

I heard my father walking closer to me.

“Aki…” his tone was warning and cautious. I turned to him, a smug smile on my face.

“Dad… I told you I’d find a way out!” my arm’s sparks dissipated, as if I’d sucked the energy right back up. Well… that was precisely what I did. My energy reserves that had been used by my defense systems recalibrated with my systems, causing my focus to fade for a second.

“How much power did you use?” he looked at me with a serious expression, causing my smile to falter a bit.

“J..Just a small amount. I’m fine,” I glanced at the rubble, and nodded towards it, “we should… get out of here and find the others…”

“Mm.. Yes, we should,” he tore his gaze away and worked his way towards the rubble. I followed soon after…

The rubble wasn’t particularly hard to climb up. After all, it was full of things to cling to. Much less dangerous than being crushed by it, at least. It was only a small section, however. The entire street block had been smashed by the robot…

Speaking of which, that robot wasn’t anywhere in sight. Did it think we’d run off somewhere?

“Suna?” Dad called into the rubble, “CAL?” 

A lump of dread hung in my throat. Was… Was Suna…

“ **SUNA!** ” I screamed out into the rubble, “ **SUNA-A!** Where are you?!” if there were no other holes around… if there was nothing but rubble… No. No I--! I…!

I fell to my knees, ignoring the rough sensation of crumbled concrete digging into them. I couldn’t hold my weight anymore. The combined effects of the scrambler, the energy drain and my emotions were too heavy for me to bear.

“...I did this,” I heard myself whimper, “I.. I shouldn’t have let it smash into that building! I--” I grabbed the sides of my head, the full weight of what happened sinking in, “I killed them.”

**_“You did, didn’t you? You’re no different than Sergeant Night… No different than your forsaken brother,”_ ** _the voice whispered cooly,_ **_“all you do is_ ** **_fail_ ** **_.”_ **

I can’t do anything right. All I do is mess everything up. I’m so impulsive! _Everyone is gone because of me! Everything_ **_is ruined be--_ **

“That is _not_ true, Aki!” I felt my father’s firm hand on my shoulder. I opened my eyes widely, fat tears falling from my artificial orbs onto the dusty ground, “you did not kill them, son. They’re still out there somewhere, I know it. Suna’s crafty and smart, Aki. He wouldn’t let this take her down…”

I hugged myself tightly, letting the tears fall regardless of reality. Regardless of promises.

“I… I can’t do this, Dad,” I spoke through wet sobs. I felt gross… I never used to cry, “I can’t transform… I can’t help you without… without my powers… without hurting you! I _hate_ it!” I finally lost control of my voice and just let it out. A scream and a sob, a cry for help, a cry for a God, any God, to just _help my family._ To just **_help me._ **

…

I was pulled into a tight, bloody embrace. My father. He let out a sigh, almost a sob.

“Oh, Aki…” he whispered, “this… this is… you’re just a child. You’re just a young boy with no obligation to help people. No obligation to save them. No obligation to help me, not at _all_. But you do anyways…”

His embrace became less rigid, and all the more comforting as my sobs continued to wrack through my body.

“You’ve been so brave, Aki. So much braver than I’ve ever been. Your heart is so strong,” through my tears and thoughts, I could hear his voice beginning to fade with emotion, “you’ve done so much good for so many people. Even if it hurts you…” he sniffed. He was _crying._

“You manage to see the good in robots and humans alike. You give them an opportunity to heal,” I let my sobs quiet down. My pain had been numbed by my father’s words, “but you burden yourself with too much. And it damages you… And it hurts to see you like this.”

“Dad…” I whimpered. He didn’t.. No. No it wasn’t his burden to carry. It was _mine_ , “don’t… You’re not--”

“I’ve been too caught up in my own regrets to realize,” I tightened my grip on my father. I.. I’d never seen him cry before… “that my own son was blaming himself for everything that wasn’t even close to being his fault.”

We were broken. Crushed. Defeated. We’d all blamed ourselves for what happened in Silicon City. For not seeing it sooner. Or not having the ability to stop it when all hell broke loose. 

Dad, too, had been hurting. He blamed himself for my injury. My lost powers. Suna’s nightmares. Our home. Our friends. I knew this. I knew all of it. But I never once stopped to think… 

Maybe he needed help, too.

It was a surreal feeling. Realizing… nobody was immortal. Nobody was going to be around forever. And realizing, fully, that my father wasn’t as strong, powerful, imposing or _immortal_ as I thought when I was a newer ‘bot, was incredibly frightening. It was almost an impossible feeling.

Your parents… they’re your first experience in life. And my father. He built me. He taught me about the world I was brought into. He provided shelter, energy, and council for me. He _loved_ me. He sacrificed so much for me to be happy. It was always an innocent thought that he would always be there. Death never crossed my mind.

But he wouldn’t be. Humans, despite advanced technology, would always die eventually. Robots lived forever, as long as they had maintenance. 

Chaotique, CAL, the Robot Masters… **me.** We would never get to see our human companions again. We had no afterlife or religion. We had no grand idea that we would see our loved ones again after we were gone. Because at the end of the day… robots were just machines. Once our power was depleted, we would simply stop existing and _shut off_. 

And the fact that anyone could die at any moment fully sunk in the second I saw _her_ emerging from the burnt, molten remains of Sergeant Night. The second I saw people being run down in the streets. The very moment I saw the mortal fear in my sister’s eyes as I was caught by the EMP.

The pain-filled minutes… hours…? years…? that I felt myself dying in the fire-filled streets **alone**.

“I promise…” he put a hand on the back of my head reassuringly, “I promise to you… none of this is your fault. And curse me for letting you think that any of this was on you… It was never your responsibility to begin with,” I closed my eyes and dug my face into his chest, trying not to let the tears come back, “you were dealt a hand that you played to help other people. You didn’t need prompting. You didn’t need guidance. You knew in your heart that you wanted to help people the moment you first booted up.”

Another sob shook my form. I took in a deep breath and released muffled howls into Dad’s shirt. My father rubbed the back of my neck to soothe my crying, even though his own tears dripped down his aged cheeks.

“Aki… you shine brighter than all of us…” he took in a shaky breath, “you’re a bright, perpetual light in the dark. A beacon. A hope.”

I felt him pull away, and lift up my chin to his gaze.

“Don’t ever lose that light. Because I _know_ you’ll use it to _heal_ , instead of _destroy_.”

“I won’t…” I sniffled and tried my best to smile, “I’m sorry I’m so stressed. I shouldn’t cry about it…”

“You have nothing to apologize for, my son. You’re not expected to carry such a large burden in the first place… let alone feel like you can do it without help,” his glossy eyes shimmered with pride. It… it was comforting.

I made my decision. 

“I _will_ carry that burden, Dad,” I wiped my eyes and looked at my skinned arm, newfound strength surging to my chest, “I want to keep going. I want to fight. I want to fight for our home. I want to avenge everyone.”

The only thing I could describe the feeling in my chest as was _passion_. I was angry, and hurt, and stricken with grief. But I’d fight. I’d save everyone, and avenge the ones who I couldn’t get to in time. 

I’d fight for the unity that Silicon City was founded upon. And restore it.

**_“Tsk tsk… Very adamant, are we?”_ **

_‘Yeah._ **_I am._ ** _’_

The thoughts wouldn’t get to me anymore. Even if they wouldn’t go away, I’d fight them. I’d always fight back, and save whoever I could. I’d always help people. I’d always protect people. 

**_“But why? Surely, you have a reason…~”_ **

...Because it’s the right thing to do. Because nobody deserves to live in misery. Because everybody deserves a chance to live in a world where they can feel safe.

Maybe then, I can finally look out from my bedroom window, and see the sun rise over my home again. Maybe then I can see my friends again. Maybe then, I can be normal again.

“No words can describe how _proud_ I am of you…” Dad put a hand on my shoulder, smiling gently. His eyes held a nostalgic glint I’d not seen in weeks.

He was happy.

“You and your sister,” he closed his eyes and chuckled warmly, “you’ve given me a fair share of heart attacks,” then, his icy blue eyes opened and were full of amused, proud elation, “but I know both of you are going to grow into amazing people.”

It took me a moment to process what he’d said, but when I did… A smile spread across my synthetic lips.

Then, crashing. And voices.

“Aki! Dad! Where are you?!” Suna’s soprano voice.

“Aki’s nexus is still online, but he isn’t pinging me back…” CAL’s familiar trill.

“Then let’s find him! I hope he’s with Dad…”

“We’re over here, you two!” I shot up to my feet and waved my arms around over my head. Lo and behold, there was Suna and CAL, climbing over the rubble frantically with surprisingly minimal injuries. Suna’s head swiveled in my direction, and her panicked expression turned to relief and joy.

“AKI!” she cried, scrambling over the wreckage. She slipped a few times, but eventually tumbled over into me with the tightest damn hug I’d ever been given.

“Wah--!” I stumbled backwards a bit, but soon returned her embrace, “jeez… it’s only been a few hours…”

“I thought you were **dead**! How’s that for a few hours?” she sighed and pulled back away, “you don’t have your armor. Anything could--”

“I’m not hurt, Suna, I swear!” I lifted my hands defensively, “but… Dad is. I-It isn’t bad, but he was bleeding a lot earlier,” it seemed to have stopped, at least. Otherwise… Suna would have been an even worse mother-hen.

“I managed to find most of the supplies before finding you,” she huffed a bit and pulled the medical grid off of her belt before walking towards our onlooking father, “this will have to do…”

“AAAKIIII!” I heard an excited and panicked shout from behind me. Then, I was nearly face-first in the concrete and being aggressively hugged by none other than CAL. It wasn’t exactly comfortable…

“Hrk..! CAL--” she was hugging me to the point where I was surprised I didn’t split in half, “loosen up a bit. You’re gonna damage something--!”

“Oh-- God, sorry,” she let me go, leaving me to get myself up, “you really scared us! Your Pops, too. We really need to stop getting seperated like this!” she smiled weakly, but the worry in her misty eyes was hard to ignore.

“You mean, falling down giant holes?” I nudged her and chuckled, “it’s okay, CAL. M’not hurt. I mean, Dad is, but he’ll live…”

She exhaled a bit through her nose and gave me a very rough noogie.

“You keep roughhousing like this and I may just end up scaring you back!”

“Noted,” I sarcastically rolled my eyes and pulled away from her noogie. But… I couldn’t keep myself from smiling, even just a little bit, as I fixed my hair back. Hadn’t she already done that with the scrambling signal?

I looked on at Suna and Dad, the former scolding Dad for getting hurt and not patching it up immediately. 

For just a second, despite everything, I thought… Maybe we’d come out of this alright.

...Yeah. Yeah! We’d be okay. 

Everyone would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time on Northward-Ball Z: Unorthodox combat methods!
> 
> I don't know when the next chapter will be coming out, but I can definitely say I'll be starting it immediately because, honestly, I'm on a roll and I don't want to stop!


	11. "I just need to think"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aki takes a big risk to clear a path for other survivors, but it seems he's picking up more secrets along the way...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been trying to post chapters together, but chapter 12 took so long that this one was delayed. Sorry it's taken a while! I hope you enjoy these next two chapters, they're a doozy!

“So… where  _ is _ that old rustbucket spider, anyways?” CAL asked as she comically scanned the ruins, “you sure did ram it good. But it’s not there anymore… It must have survived.”

“I guess… it gave up? I don’t think those old scanners can see underground…” I closed my eyes to think for a moment. Was that robot even an ‘it’? I had scanned a part of its programming, if for just a moment. Maybe it had some shred of conscious thought? Even if it didn’t, we’d need to deal with it  _ somehow _ … Others could get hurt, or worse.

“These old war machines…” Suna spoke up, “do you know anything about them, Dad?” My father sighed and stood up slowly. His arm had been patched up fairly well by Suna, despite the limited supplies on the grid. At least it wouldn’t get infected.

“They’re incredibly dangerous, heavy-duty and built to last. They were always used on the front lines against the robots, because of their innate ability to survive without an Informational Nexus,” he cleared his throat and continued, “they possessed no personalities or individual thought, thus the name ‘war machines’.

“So… that spider doesn’t need a Nexus…” the gears began to turn in my head as I spoke, “but can it join one? Even without a personality?”

“Son, they’re not like robots or androids. They’re… simply mindless machines. No soul. No life,” Dad looked at me with a knowing gaze. He knew precisely what I was planning, “they had safeguards against Superior Masters who would try to overcome their systems.”

“But, I controlled its guns! Maybe I can control the rest of it?” it didn’t make any sense… If I controlled it then how could it have safeguards?

“It's defense systems could be damaged. But I’m certain that if you tried to control it directly for a longer period of time, they would kick in and cause fatal damage to your circuitry,” he sighed and shook his head, “we shouldn’t mess with it, Aki. Anything could happen. The best chance we have is to get out of range before it comes back. We won’t get another chance like this.”

“Then we should head out,” CAL nodded, shifting her weight to her right leg, “but any other stragglers may not have the same luck as us. If there’s others like me out there…” she drifted off and crossed her arms tightly.

“If we don’t get out of here, there won’t  _ be _ any stragglers left to get caught once we save the city. I agree with Dad, we should leave as soon as we can,” Suna chimed in. I looked at the ground, thinking hard about our different options… even though I already knew what I needed to do. If we  _ did _ leave this rob-- ...war machine here, then others passing through would… get hurt. 

“No,” I looked up, furrowing my brows in determination, “if we can’t…  _ reason _ with it, then we’ll disable it so nobody else gets hurt.”

“Aki, that is  _ incredibly _ dangerous,” my father’s eyes widened with surprise, “it’s fully loaded with a deadly arsenal that could take out an entire platoon in the war!”

“But if we do manage to defeat it, won’t it at least be safer for other people who may have escaped?” I gestured towards the remaining buildings around us, “people could find shelter here! Robots could power themselves! Humans could sleep comfortably! Shouldn’t we at least offer them that chance?”

My father opened his mouth to respond, but he closed it. His eyes softened and he relented.

“Alright... Alright, okay,” he smiled weakly. It didn’t seem entirely genuine, but it was something, “what’s your plan, son?”

I smiled. He trusted me, at least. He knew I could do it.

And I knew I-- No. We. I knew we could do it. As a team.

There it was. Obscuring the setting sun, armored spindly legs refracting its diminishing light onto the abundant dust particles. I narrowed my gaze towards its rusty, lichen-covered guns. It was a wonder they even functioned after, what, forty years of outside elements? Well it.. It wouldn’t be anymore. It couldn’t hurt anyone anymore. I’d make sure of it.

A blue light flashed to my left. Then… the ropes were ready. Guess they found some, after all.

Okay.

I closed my eyes and relaxed my shoulders, letting out a calming sigh. This was it.

A surge of energy released across my whole body, causing my skinned arm to crackle with blue sparks. A similar crackle spread to my right eye, causing small strings of electricity to illuminate my cheek. And although my armor and buster did not appear, I felt confident in my plan of attack.

I just… needed to not get hit, was all.

Regardless, it was time to go.

I leaped off of the top of the vantage point, making sure to aim myself in front of the spider’s visual sensors… at least, I thought they were visual. It worked, though. The spider let out an angry, mechanical whir and aimed its artillery at me deliberately. 

Time felt as if it slowed as I made eye contact with it. It was a husk. Emotionless. Unknowing. Unforgiving.

It was certain, then. It needed to be shut down. 

Thing seemed to accelerate as I landed on the concrete ground. The shockwave of force vibrated through my metallic frame, but it did not stop me. It felt exhilarating, if anything. But I couldn’t stop to enjoy the feeling of power. The spider was on top of me and wanted me  _ dead _ .

I dug a heel into the cracked concrete and propelled myself forward. One foot after the other, sprinting for dear life. I couldn’t help but laugh, though. It felt like old times; when I’d trick a Robot Master into falling for one of my clever, unconventional traps.

This wasn’t so different. Except this time, I couldn’t show mercy. No… lifeless objects following long-since dead commanders didn’t deserve mercy. They didn’t have the capacity to know the meaning of the word.

And so I kept running, jumping and gliding. Closer to the ropes, closer to its downfall. My core pulsed with mock adrenaline as the old ropes came into view. This was it!

I came within just a few meters of the crosswalk blocked by a wall of ropes. The spider was just behind me. A part of me was in awe at how fast I’d reached the checkpoint. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad! I skidded to a stop, and leapt upwards just in time, before the spider came racing into the tightly bound ropes.

I flew over the old rusty thing, my descent clear. My hood fell over my head from the wind resistance, only somewhat obscuring my vision. I fell towards its back, though I flailed a bit as I tried to stabilize myself to land correctly. 

Its guns spun around. 

Oh. No. Not this time, you aren’t!

I slammed onto its abdomen, sliding under the cephalothorax guns’ reach and twisting my body to stop myself from falling off. Once I was somewhat stable, I firmly planted my skinned arm against its back between a bit of its armor. It didn’t seem like it was going to give up, as it was bucking around and flailing quite a bit… I just... Needed to  _ focus… _

My eyes shut tightly, and I attempted to interface with the circuitry in the spider. I needed to be quick.

[> FRAGMENT TRANSFER INITIATED.]

What?!

[>TRANSFER COMPLETE. COMMENCING PLAYBACK SEQUENCE . . .]

A hot, burning sensation ripped through my body--

_ “--ight, you’re sure these will suffice for the United Ones’ needs?” a familiar, but different voice rang out. I couldn’t… see? I was blind. _

_ “Yes, Sergeant. I’m certain that this line of war-machine will greatly improve the army’s rate of success on the front lines,” that voice! I recognized it instantly. That was Dad! But… what was he… _

_ “Mmm.. yes. I hope it isn’t like your other project. How is that going, by the way? My corporals tell me that we haven’t received a report in  _ **_quite_ ** _ some time…” the Sergeant’s voice was full of an underlying venom that made my blood boil. _

_ “It… is going optimally. We’ll have the new test subjects completed in a matter of weeks,” my father’s voice was quieter… more afraid. Fragile. _

_ “Weeks? ‘Weeks’ isn’t good enough, Doctor. I’m sure you can appreciate the amount of human blood that has gone into this God-forsaken battle against tools that think they’re real,” the Sergeant’s Southern-drawl intensified as he spat out his words, “ _ **_you_ ** _ either get me some  _ **_damn_ ** _ results, or we start finding cheaper, more  _ **_personal_ ** _ ways of getting them. Do you understand that?” _

_ “...Yes, Sergeant Night. I will see to it that we do everything we can to speed up the operation.” _

[> FRAGMENT PLAYBACK COMPLETED.]

“Aki? Aki?” a quivering female voice broke through my drowsiness, causing me to open my eyes. Suna was hovering over me, concern etched into her normally soft features.

“M’awake,” I mumbled groggily, “what…”

I rubbed my eyes and analyzed my somewhat blurry surroundings. It was… incredibly dusty. But through the dust I could see a still, imposing figure looming. 

Oh shoot-- 

I shuffled away from it on impulse, only for gentle hands to wrap around my upper arms and stop me.

“ _ Calm down _ , ro-bro,” Suna gave me a reassuring, “you shut it down. We’re okay.”

“But the question is… Are  _ you _ okay, Aki?” CAL gave me a nervous smile, “you really gave that thing hell, but how much power did you use?” Suna moved away, studying me intensely.

Wait… I… Did? 

“I don’t… remember it…” I held my head with one hand as a sharp bit of static pinched inside of my head, “I feel… fine?” a soft grunt escaped me, “I saw.. I heard? Something…”

CAL and Dad’s interest seemed to pique at that.

“What did you see, son?” my father asked slowly.

“I didn’t  _ see _ … I… I was blind, I think,” another pinch of static ran up my scalp, “ow… It was you. I heard you…” another wave of static nipped me as I tried to recall the fuzzy memory. It was fading fast, like a dream. CAL knelt down beside me and put a gloved hand on my shoulder. The plates clinked softly in my ear, causing me to look over to her and forget the odd static.

“Let’s not worry about that right now, kiddo,” an optimistic smile replaced the sombre expression she had on her face just moments before, “we beat the rusty old bug, but it’s getting late. We’ve… all had a pretty rough day,” she looked over to my father and sister, her hand loosening up, “with your permission, Doctor, I’d love to look for a place for us to recharge.”

“Of course, though I’d like you to take someone with you. Suna perhaps?” he glanced at Suna encouragingly.

“Sur--” Suna began.

“I’d like to go!” I spoke up. Then, realizing what I’d just blurted out, I shrunk down, “uh, if that’s fine. I just… need to move around.”

Dad raised a brow.

“Are you sure you’re up for it, Aki? Maybe you should rest after all of that power output.”

No. No I.. really needed to just be alone. Get some air. Relax. Think…

“I’m sure! I’ll be fine,” I gave him the biggest smile I could, “I’ll be with CAL! If anything goes wrong, she’ll bring me back.”

“Yeah! It’ll be no problem. I’ll keep an eye on the little firecracker,” she grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet fairly roughly, “if we find anything, we’ll report back right away!” CAL gave a quick salute and practically dragged me away. I waved meekly with a nervous smile as I tried to regain my footing to no avail.

It took just thirty seconds for us to turn a corner. CAL finally let me go, humming a ditty as she kept walking.

“What was that about?” I asked, rubbing the arm she’d dragged me by tentatively. 

She turned around, her smile persisting.

“You wanted to come with me, right? Well now you’re with me,” she brushed her pale blue hair away from her face, “not sure why, though. Scouting is bo-oring work.”

I cleared my throat and crossed my arms. Man she… she was surprisingly chipper despite the situation.

“I just needed to get away,” I took in a breath of the cool twilight air, “I need to think…”

CAL’s happy expression depressed into a somewhat more sympathetic one.

“Hey…” she put a hand on one of my tense shoulders, “you can tell me what’s up. We haven’t exactly known one another for years, but…” CAL tapped her head with her other hand, “we’re nexus-pals. Can’t take that away from us. Just let me know when you need’ta talk, alright?”

“Hah… Alright…” I nodded, unable to stifle a smile, “I’ll keep you in mind.”

**_“Idiotic brat. You have no idea how much of a burden you are on her, do you?”_ **

My heart sank.

This again?

_ ‘No. I don’t actually.’ _

**_“You’ll find out soon enough. One of these days, you’ll lose control of this ‘nexus’ of your’s. And when you do, you’ll hurt everyone all over again.”_ **

I scowled at that. No. I wouldn’t. 

...Would I? I had no idea how any of this worked.

Well, that just meant I had to be extra careful… 

I wouldn’t let anyone get hurt. Not again.  _ Not _ because of me. I had to be better.


	12. "Someone like me"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aki discovers the underground laboratories his father worked in during the hard age, but... will he find what he's looking for?

The city was fairly large, all things considered. It had taken a while for us to find something even relatively useful. And when we did...

“What’s this?” CAL questioned. I turned my head to look at her, confused. She was crouched down, looking at something under a heavily damaged manhole. It glinted a bit under CAL’s glowing lights, but it still was not clear what exactly it was. I brushed away some of the concrete dust from the manhole, and gripped its crooked edge.

“Only one way to find out!” I pried at it for a moment, before a loud metallic ring echoed through the street. The manhole popped off and clanged against the cracked concrete road. CAL seemed to be alarmed by the sudden commotion, however. 

“Man, you’re strong, kiddo,” she gasped out, a hand on her chest, “let’s go check it out.”

I steadied myself, and jumped down the manhole. It was pretty dark, I couldn’t deny. Even  _ I _ had trouble seeing. But that metallic glint persisted as CAL leaped down next to me. A loud splash filled my ears, and then another soon after when CAL landed. Cold water soaked my boots and lower jean hems. Gah.. I’d have to dry them off later. I looked at what I could of CAL, and she seemed to get the message. Her strange ear lights brightened up considerably, illuminating the strange damp place we’d jumped into.

It appeared to be relatively worn down there, possibly from water erosion. It seemed to be some sort of… corridor. Not quite a sewer, despite the presence of water. There had to have been rainfall of some sort that leaked through the old manhole cover. The stagnant water lapped against the crumbling sides of the tunnel. The area itself was fairly uninteresting, but that metallic glint caught my eye yet again. 

“There it is!” I waded through the waters towards the odd golden light reflecting in the water. I reached out for it with my non-skinned arm and fished around. I pulled the shining object from the water, gasping as I uncurled my hand. There in my palm sat an old, corroded golden locket. It was a bit dirty and old, but other than that it seemed quite beautiful.

And familiar. 

“Wow! It’s shiny… Is it a human trinket?” CAL asked next to me. I shook my head and furrowed my brow.

“Maybe.. It’s pretty old. Maybe someone dropped it a long time ago?” I rubbed metal fingers along its edge. It.. It was so… Had I seen it before? 

I popped open the top and bottom parts, jumping a bit at the odd squeaking noise it made. It seemed to have something within it… though the photo inside was worn and molded beyond recognition, but something about it was incredibly eerie and nostalgic. 

_ “Daddy? Where are we going?” a young child’s voice rang through the corridor, like an instrument’s trill, “are you finally showing me the science place?” _

_ …. _

_ The sound of a male’s voice, muffled and distorted, caused my chest to hurt just slightly. Who was that kid? And the man with him? _

A gentle hand rested on my shoulder. I tensed and looked up from the locket.

“Aki? Are you okay?” CAL’s familiar trill caused me to relax my servos. I exhaled and nodded.

“Yeah, I’m.. okay,” I looked around, my brows furrowed, “I heard that voice again.”

“What voice?” she asked, crossing her arms. Oh. Right. I hadn’t told her. Or anyone, for that matter.

“I… Keep hearing a voice. A kid, I think,” I looked down at the locket again, “it sounds so familiar…” my hand clenched around the locket and I closed my eyes.

“...So… Like a memory?” CAL’s voice became gentle. Oddly so, in fact, “my first Superior Master always heard voices from her memories… They would alter her orders, and change the way the nexus was formed, even for just a moment.”

So… it was a Superior Master thing…

Okay then.

“Her…?” I looked at CAL, shoving the locket into my pocket. She nodded, walking through the corridor. I joined her, my hand still rubbing the locket.

“Mistress Syndr. She commanded the scouts platoons,” CAL’s voice became fond, a nostalgic glint in her eye, “she would always come up with such clever ways to slow down the human armies, as if she was one of them.”

One of them…

“Was she a spy?” I wondered aloud.

“Oh, never in a million years! Syndr  _ hated _ humans. She could never even be in the same room as one without setting them alight!” CAL laughed sadly, “she was so quiet, though. So gentle with her scouts. I wonder… where is she now? Is she happy…? Does she miss us?” CAL quieted down, a sad expression on her face as she walked. Her body visibly slumped over.

I smiled, stopping and putting a hand on CAL’s slumped shoulder.

“I’m sure she misses you, CAL,” I sighed loudly, “I don’t know anything about this ‘Superior Master’ garbage. I’m so confused as to what I really am… I don’t know  _ anything… _ ” I pulled my hand away, hugging myself, “so if we ever find her… You can go back to her. You can rejoin her nexus, and be happy with her.”

CAL looked at me, her eyes damp. She seemed stunned, and then rolled her eyes, blowing a raspberry.

“Aki… I miss my old nexus, but I’ve got something new now,” she perked up visibly, though I wasn’t sure if it was a front or not, “now that I know there’s a civilization where I don’t have to  _ fight _ anymore… Now that the world I fought for is a reality, I don’t need to be under the command with a general,” CAL shoved me playfully with her shoulder, “I just need friends. And I’m glad to have found a friend like you, and your family. And… I can’t wait to make more.”

Her dark blue eyes shimmered with joy, despite the low light setting. It was inspiring… invigorating. I couldn’t help but feel that same joy rub off on myself.

“So enough of that depressing stuff,” she gestured further into the tunnel, “maybe there’s more memories, and even shelter down this way!”

She cared. She really did care. I had to admire that, at least. Even when it didn’t concern her, she still tried to help me… why? Was it in her nature? Was there some ulterior motive?

No… I trusted her. She trusted me. She wasn’t going to hurt us, I knew that. But… it just seemed so odd to be shown the same sort of kindness after weeks, or more, of nothing but heartache. But… maybe this was how Fire Man and the Robot Masters felt when I tried to give them a second chance? Maybe they’d been so accustomed to Sergeant Night abusing them… they hadn’t considered that the rest of the world wasn’t the same. 

But I only knew a fraction. I’d only been out there for a month at most. They.. They were hurting for  _ years. _ And no simple act of kindness would fix them. They needed time and effort put into their healing.

And I had to make sure they got it. By making it to Alaska. By keeping myself and my family alive.

“Woah,” CAL gasped, holding her arm out. I bumped into it, which caused me to jerk back into reality, “look at  _ that.. _ ”

I looked forward to see the tunnel widening out into a huge, expansive top-shaped cavern. The worn bricks seemed to mesh into a strange rusted plate alloy, causing an odd lighting contrast from the flickering lights all around the start of the show… A mechanical megastructure, covered in lichen and roots but magnificent nonetheless. Its frame was almost alien to me, but still had enough human architecture in its mass that it was recognizable. The bridges that lead from other corridors and our own had appeared relatively makeshift and worn. Maybe this wasn’t a complete facility?

“Is this what that door lead to?” I wondered aloud. CAL looked at me oddly, and I chuckled awkwardly, “me and Dad found an old dirty door when we fell down into that sinkhole… I think this may have been what it lead to. It looks like it matches.”

“Maybe… We shouldn’t--”

“Let’s go inside,” I said without thinking of my audience. CAL looked at my like I’d just had a second head screwed on.

“I’m sorry-- what? This is an old, probably-unstable human construct. We have  _ no _ idea what could--”

I stared at the construct with increased interest, and a bit of recollection. I’d been there before.

I saw something move in the corner of my eye. My arm sparked as I whirled to see what it was.

…

Nothing.

“Jeez, kid. You’re getting jumpy,” CAL tried to turn me back towards her, but I was frozen. What was… “we should head back. You’re probably getting--”

“No. I’m fine!” I pulled away, “let’s go inside. I’m sure there’s something we could use in there!”

I lied. I wanted to see what was in there, but not for survival or anyone’s benefit. I wanted to be in there for myself. For my own benefit.

...There had to be answers. Because I obviously wasn’t getting any more from Dad, not without bringing up bad memories. And Suna.. Suna didn’t know anything. He’d lied to her, too.

“Aki. Seriously. You’re tired. Your Dad should probab--”

No.

I booked it towards the damaged bridge. CAL cried out, trying to follow me. But I was faster. I was always faster.

My feet pounded against the metal bridge, rocking it and causing it to creak. But that was nothing compared to the loud, feminine laughter echoing in my synthetic skull.

**_“BAHAH! You idiot! You’ll only get yourself killed in there!”_ **

Maybe I was stupid. Probably was. But I didn’t really give much of a damn; I needed answers. And now that Dad wasn’t around, I could  _ finally _ get them--

I skidded to a halt near the end as the bridge shifted dangerously. I looked back to see CAL, both feet planted firmly on the bridge a few yards from me. Of course… She was an older robot. Her systems were heavier and larger than my own.

**_“Less advanced.”_ **

“CAL! Get off the bridge!” I tried not to move anymore. One wrong move and the bridge would probably give into its rusted and disrepaired wear. She shook her head.

“You’re coming back with me. You’re  _ not _ well, Aki!” she tried to take another step, only for the bridge to creak and shift more, “Dr. Light can help you!”

Wrong. Wrong. All  _ wrong. _

“Fix me? He’s  _ lied _ to me. About  _ everything!!! _ ” I shouted, anger boiling in my stomach, “it doesn’t matter how many times he’s hugged me and told me: ‘it’s okay’, because I know he’ll just keep doing it,” I clenched my fists, ignoring the burning sensation in my skinned arm from the pressure, “he lied to me about my own powers! About  _ everything, _ CAL!” I felt tears prick in my eyes. I still hurt so much, even if I sought solace with Suna and Dad alike, I still hated it. All of it…

“He worked here though... He finally told me something useful. And  _ now _ , I’m going to get some answers as to why I’m so goddamn  _ special  _ all of a sudden!”

I slammed my foot down in punctuation, but then realized my mistake when several loud metallic ‘pings’ filled the air. The sounds were followed by the bridge shifting to the left. CAL yelped in alarm, jumping away from the bridge into the corridor tunnel.

“Aki! Get off of the--!” too late.

The bridge disappeared from beneath my feet. I snagged my hands onto the edge of the megastructure’s bridge platform, straining to hold on. A few seconds later a distant clash, then a splash, filled the echoing expanse.

“Kid! Are you okay?!” CAL stood still on the other side, though her panic was all-too-evident over the nexus. It clouded my thoughts like late night fog. It was  **_annoying_ ** .

I said nothing, pulling myself up onto the platform with a deep grunt of effort. I took a few deep breaths, slowly standing to my feet as I re-oriented myself. 

Yeah.  **_I’m fine_ ** **.**

“Aki! AKI!” I walked along the platform, looking around the structure for a door or entryway. A part of my mind was really regretful. After all, she just wanted to help. But the other part of me that was building up faster than I could release it.. The emotions. That was my problem. I felt confused, and awful. And my patience had run out. I needed answers. I stopped, though. I stopped and I looked back, because I still felt conflicted, somewhere deep down. If I did find anything, would it be worth it?

Would I end up like Namagem? Angry and broken? 

I looked back, and I saw nothing but freshly disturbed water. I heard metallic footsteps, running. Away from me?

She was probably going to get Dad.. Then, I should have probably been looking for an entrance before they came back.

I turned back towards the megastructure. I was on a platform… there should have been an entrance nearby. Even so, I walked along the scaffolding platform around to the left of the building. Only the flickering lights and dwindling moonlight from the odd glass above the structure itself lit my path. I shoved my hands in my jacket’s pockets. Maybe this was a bad idea after all… 

No. No doubts. I needed to see what was inside… If Dad worked here, maybe there would be answers. If this was an old human research station… there  _ had _ to be answers. 

Just a couple of minutes later, I came upon a sliding door. Its nanocore lighting flickered with age and wear. It was incredibly eerie, but if the lights were still on, maybe it still worked?

I reached my left hand out, feeling along the surface of the door for some sort of--

With a soft flash, holographic digitech pixels rippled along the door, and a somewhat glitched panel was displayed. It was asking for identification… Well, shoot. It was worth a try, even if I didn’t have anything that would work, right?

I hesitated. If this  _ did _ work… was I ready for what was held within? ...Yeah. I would be. I’d be able to handle it. I narrowed my eyes and put my left hand on the panel. A digital ping sounded from inside of my head, and the door lighting turned green. The panel was rather damaged from my use; its inscriptions were nearly unreadable.

[>WELCOME BACK, PRJT-00E1.]

And then the panel shut off. The sliding doors flickered and slowly cracked open, a pained mechanical creak ringing out through the huge chamber. Dust rolled out, like in some adventure movie. From within, a hum emanated like an ancient growling beast. A moment later, lights flickered on. I couldn’t help but walk inside, looking at the aged architecture with wonder. Rust was smeared down from the metal alloy walls, as if they’d cried dried blood. 

The lights were tinted with dirt and dust, but still lit the inner corridor fairly well. On the other end of the short corridor was another sliding door, but was much less weathered. I looked around with a furrowed expression, before focusing my attention back on the second door. Once I came close, it lit up green, and slid open. Lights beyond it flashed on.

I gasped quietly. Before me was a spacious room, filled to the brim with old hard-age technology. Some of it was familiar, but most of the items were strange rusty tech or flickering tablets. In the center of the room was an energy core, providing most of the ambient light. The old desks cast shadows along the worn metal floors. It was incredibly eerie, but the lights at least helped. What was this, a reception area?

I walked further inside, my footsteps echoing through the area like a lone cry in an empty void. I was alone here… probably. There could have been security measures once, though I doubted it. If there were, I wouldn’t have been let in and would have been shot down already. On the other side of the room, in a small round cylinder compartment, was what seemed to be an old elevator. Huh… fancy.

I decided to make my way over, keeping a wary eye out for any possible hazards. I scuffed my shoe soles a bit as I entered the compartment, looking up and down. Yep, definitely an elevator. On the side of the tube-like elevator was a rounded panel detailing floors.

[>1A - Reception]

[>1B - Offices]

[1C - Holding Cells]

[1D - Laboratory]

Somehow… this was incredibly terrifying to me.

‘ _ Dad? Where are we going?’ _

I jumped, pinning myself to the back of the tube to catch my balance. I huffed a bit as some dust kicked up from my sudden movement. My core pounded at the speed of light inside of my chest while I looked around frantically. That same voice… why did I keep hearing it? Was there an incoming transmission? Was someone here? Why did it sound so damn familiar…?

That same feminine voice responded. Echoing in the deepest part of my skull like a little buzzing gnat.

**_“Are you ready to give up yet? You won’t find anything here but pain, boy.”_ **

“Shut up,” I muttered under my breath, “I’m done listening. Just shut up!” I clenched a fist as I selected a floor on the panel. Hopefully the elevator still functioned after God knew how long…

[>1B - Offices]

The elevator creaked and groaned, but eventually it hummed to life, shooting downwards like a bullet. It almost knocked me over from the acceleration. I wasn’t at all prepared for that… 

It stopped abruptly, causing me to fall over that time. I let out a startled yelp that echoed through the elevator. After a second, said elevator’s doors opened up, revealing to me a large room full of knocked over desks and dusty old computers. I furrowed my brow, standing up slowly. I stuck my head out of the elevator and scanned the area for any dangers.

...Nothing. No robot or human, or even an animal. Just the hum of old fluorescent lights and the core in the floor above. I stepped inside cautiously, taking care not to touch anything. One detail I noticed were the dusty metal nameplates that stood crookedly on the worn desks. Names like ‘Harley’ and ‘Jason’ were on them, but one nameplate caught my eye… I approached the desk, stepping over a couple of old rusted pencil holders…

I picked up the nameplate in my right hand, using my left thumb to dust off the engraved piece of metalwork…

“Thomas Light…” I murmured, the name falling with familiarity on my artificial tongue. I softened my gaze a bit, a sad smile tugging at my lips, “I guess part of me hoped he was lying about this, too,” I placed the plate back down where it originally was on the desk, glancing at the computer on his desk. I wondered if it was still functional? I maneuvered around the desk and sat in the old office chair, swiveling it around to the old laptop that was shut tight on the desk. 

I gingerly opened up the screen, to be met with the aged screen flickering on. It had an odd tinge to it, but it was better than I’d expected. I was met with an old login screen. Oh, shoot. I didn’t have a password, did I?

Sighing, I closed the laptop and scanned along the messy desk. I felt nostalgic at seeing the mess; even in his younger years, Dad wasn’t entirely organized with his work. With a small smile, I picked up a pile of stapled papers. I read along the title slowly.

“...Project Warviper…” I muttered the words, and scanned further down the page, “...A project meant to repel the tides of the robot army using human-robot crossbreeds as a means of... ” I paused, and continued reading mentally, as if there was something in the room that shouldn’t know the contents of the paper.

_ Project Warviper MK_2 _

_ A project meant to repel the tides of the robot army using human-robot crossbreeds as a means of both bullet fodder and mass-elimination. _

_ The last results of the Project Warviper experimentation phase were entirely unsuccessful. All subjects deceased within 48 hours of neural transfer with irreversible effects. The bodies have been disposed of and the robot frames have been recycled. A new hypothesis has been communicated in classified research e-mails. A list of chosen subjects will be sent out shortly to our retrieval specialists. _

_ All researchers with clearance are to report to the laboratories on June 14th for a demonstration of the new methods the Corporal have delivered from the High Science Council. _

Project Warviper…? Was Dad involved? He… He had to be. This was on his desk! My mouth had gone dry. Was this… was this what he meant when he said that the United Ones had… experimented on humans and robots? Was this it?

My mouth went dry as I turned to the next page.

_ The new subjects seem to be adjusting well to the serum. They are becoming increasingly lethargic and dull-witted. All authorized researchers are to begin neural transfers on July 8th. _ _   
_

_ Subjects are entirely unconscious. Transfers are to begin by midnight. _

_ Transfers are complete. Two subjects have been reported dead, but the rest seem to have transferred successfully into their neural networks. Component and armorment application will now commence. All subjects are to be shipped to the nearest command facility under watch of Sergeant Breaker Night and his corporals. Our research was successful. All authorized personnel are to have their access cards wiped and their hard drives recycled after the files have been sent to high command. _

_ You have done well. _

I felt sick. I felt absolutely disgusted. The United Ones… They had no remorse. They just wanted to use those poor people as cannon fodder for their war! I narrowed my eyes, throwing the paper to the desk and recoiling from it. But my disgust could not out-do my confusion. They managed to put a human’s mind into a robot’s? But wasn’t that impossible? Robots and humans… they were incompatible, as far as I learned in school. A human’s mind was entirely organic! There was no way they could…

“Huh?” I looked at the desk again, another, much more worn paper was underneath the one I’d tossed down. I gently shuffled it out, examining it. The paper was covered in old water spots that resembled… tears? The writing on it was fairly worn out, but I could make out some of it, at least.

_ They’re taking _

_ I can’t do this again _

_ My  _

_ What do I do? _

_ How do I stop _

_ I can’t _

_ Need to obey _

_ They won’t find out if I _

It looked fairly sloppy, not to mention the missing parts. Was this Dad’s writing…? If so, he must have been in a hurry… There was no way he’d write  _ this _ messily! 

Regardless, I needed to find out more. I stood up from the desk, stepping over fallen old garbage and shuffling uncomfortably away from the office areas back to the elevator. That was…  _ unsettling… _

**_“Are you finally putting the pieces together? Are you finally realizing? If you would stop holding me back, I could teach you more than your pathetic father ever could…”_ **

I blinked, stopping in my tracks. That… that sounded different than before. It sounded…  _ separate. _

It was someone else. The thoughts, they were someone else! I knew it!

_ ‘Who are you?!’ _ I pushed my presence to the odd voice eating away at the back of my skull,  _ ‘you aren’t me. You aren’t CAL.’ _

The voice cackled wickedly. I knew that voice…!

**_“Keep going and you might just find out, little ‘bot. You’ve already got the thirst for more knowledge. Why not take the extra leap?”_ **

I stopped thinking to the odd sensation, checking the nexus to make sure it wasn’t coming from there. Thankfully, it wasn’t. The bad news was that I had no idea how to track where that voice  _ was _ coming from.

...It could wait. I needed to know more. 

I walked into the elevator and entered the desired floor into the panel with quick motions. The same acceleration rushed through my body, but I was prepared for the motion. I steadied myself as the lights whizzed by my vision.

[>1C - Holding Cells]

The first thing to hit me was the stench of rancid blood. Metallic and old, as if it had been recycled down here since it was first spilled. The lights were low and flickering, adding onto the eerie and horror-like ambience.

...My eyes snapped shut.

_ “What is this place? I’m scared! Why am I wearing this weird dress?” the child’s voice echoed through the poorly-lit room, resulting in more children’s varied cacophonous cries from the dark. A male’s wet sob sounded out, though it was incredibly distorted. _

I opened my eyes, taking in a sharp breath of air and taking a step back.

_ “Daddy wouldn’t tell me why…” _ a voice echoed like a distant murmur in my skull, but not much else could disturb me more than the sight before my eyes. A disgusting place, full of long-since deactivated holding cells full of dirt and blood. 

I looked away once the shock wore off, quickly inputting the command for the next floor on the panel. Nobody should have had to see that… Nobody should have had to suffer that… Though, a thought lingered in my mind… What were they doing to those children?

I opened my eyes again once I felt the elevator bullet downwards again. I felt warm tears forming in my eyes. What… What was this place? What more vile, disgusting secrets were held here…?

I would find out soon enough. The elevator stopped, and slid open to reveal a large room full of different screens, technologies and compartments, some halls leading into other large rooms. But the first thing that stood out to me was a flickering nanocore table on the far right, along with smaller tables just like it. 

On top of it was a completely bare robot skeleton.The only things it had connected were old wires and empty energy pumps connected to its spine. Its eyes were hollow… This was truly a blank slate. Although the sight spooked me somewhat, I couldn’t help but approach. Something seemed… personal about it. Something I couldn’t quite place.

As soon as I got within a few feet of the table, a screen blinked on, alarming me. I scanned it closely…

_ Subject 00D11 _

_ Status - Deceased _

My stomach fell to my feet. This… This was a person. This used to be a person. They tried to…

**_“It only gets worse, boy. The humans are nasty, vile creatures.”_ **

“Stop it…” I whispered, moving away from the table and walking towards a corridor on the opposite side of the room. I tried to walk quietly, but the echo of my footfalls still echoed around in that empty, lifeless laboratory. The corridors were dark, but this one especially so.

_ “Daddy took us here. It was dark.” _

I closed my eyes tightly as the voice rang in my head, like a sore memory. It wasn’t as jarring as before… it was oddly comforting, even. Nostalgic.

I eventually came upon a dimly lit door, a glitchy label still displayed on its front. I could just make out…

_ Doctor Thomas Light _

So that was it. This must have been where he worked! I reached forward, but before I could find any panel, the doors whooshed open…

“Ack!” I jumped a bit, not expecting to be let in. I steadied myself, letting out a shaking sigh. This was it. This had to be. I was… I was going to figure out what the hell was going on. Finally.

I stepped into the dark room, and the lights flashed on. I squinted my eyes until they got used to the bright lights. The place looked entirely untouched… Asides from a couple of scattered papers.

The room was full of equipment, and even a couple of nanocore tables. Near the tables were two empty, dust-filled subject tubes roughly my size. It was sickeningly familiar to me… Something about this place… It made me feel sick. Just like I did in the--

**Memory chip.**

This was it. This was the place in the memory chip! They were hazy memories, but this was… this was where I was created! 

But…

It didn’t feel that simple. There was more to this place… So much more. I quickly walked over to the small desk area, which was covered in what seemed like research and technical junk. Lots and lots of technical junk… A small note caught my attention, past the odd tools and gadgets. It was covered in much more visible, scraggly writing than the last note I found on the office desk. I picked it up, and examined it in the dim light.

_ I think I finally did it. I can’t write this on my tablet. They’ll find out what I did. I just need to get it out. I need to let go to forget. _

_ I saved my boys. They’ll be okay. I just need to hide them from the Sergeant. Once this blasted war is over, I’ll remove the combat capabilities. We’ll be able to live a normal life again, even if they’ll be different. But they’ll live on in the subjects’ memories. _

_ The first subject is already showing signs of wakefulness. I’ll need to make sure he stays under until it’s safe to wake him up. _

_ I think I’ll name him Aki. _

_ The second one hasn’t woken up, but his neural activity is in overdrive. Aggressive thoughts. He’ll be strong. _

_ I hope he’s okay. I can’t lose another child. _

My hand went slack. I dropped the note. My vision blurred a bit. I felt faint. I felt numb. I felt so cold. Finally, I sucked in an artificial breath. I needed air. I needed to breathe. 

I was one of them, wasn’t I?

I was one of the experiments. 

No. No I wasn’t

That was a lie. A lie. A lie. A  _ lie. _ It had to be some sort of mistake? Maybe I was connecting the wrong dots, I…

**_“Now do you see? They lied to you. He lied to you. The children of Warviper. Made to be war machines. Monsters… but they turned on their creators,”_ ** the feminine voice became clear and strong, like a pounding force in my skull,  **_“they became warriors, commanders, and then living gods. They commanded the tides of battle using the abilities given to them by their human creators…”_ **

I covered my face with my hands, feeling hot tears form in my eyes. It was a lie. All of it. I wasn’t… I wasn’t ready. I should have never come here…

**_“All but two. You, and your brother. The lost. You would be whispered about, a simple rumor to most of the Superior Masters. But the ones who met you when you were simply putrid flesh, knew you were being held back, stolen, in a cradle… the synthetic womb of that crazy widower!”_ ** the voice seethed, still pounding in my ears. I was crying, I was sure. But I couldn’t hear it. I couldn’t hear it over the overpowering, commanding voice,  **_“how sad, truly. You were the most powerful. The most advanced. Now… you are simply a broken, damaged little robot with no idea what he’s up against.”_ **

That struck a nerve.

I pushed back and screamed, my hands digging into my scalp and tugging at my hair. My face felt hot and wet as I fell to my knees and screamed. It was too much. Too much.

Too much responsibility. Too much knowledge. I… I was weak. I was tired. I just wanted everything to go back to how it used to be; with me being clueless, taking down criminals and going to school.

I wanted my friends back. I wanted my father. I wanted to be held and told it wasn’t true. That it was a lie. That it was a dream.

I screamed, and _screamed._ I needed to drown out the questions, the lingering thoughts… I wanted to forget.

…

But I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. I would never forget, not after this… No amount of memory wipes could keep this from me now. Not that I knew what I was…

Who I was?

Who was I? Dad’s old son? The second? Was I even me? Were my thoughts my own? They had to be. Should I even ask him? Would I even speak to him again?

No. I couldn’t be angry. He… He didn’t have any choice. It-It was clear by the notes that he didn’t want to… he needed to. They  _ made _ him…!

I continued to cry, and cry, and cry, until I couldn’t anymore. Until my energy was sapped, and I simply laid there, sniffing and staring at the dirty old tile floor soaked with my tears. I finally decided it had been long enough for me to fully churn the information… 

**_“Are you done moping?”_ ** the voice whispered threateningly,  **_“come to me. In Silicon City. They won’t miss you. We can finally set things right for robot-kind. We can wipe out humans, and bring forth a new, synthetic age for this withered old planet…”_ **

My stomach lurched at those words. I snarled audibly. What kind of offer was that?! Disgusting...

“No! I’m going to fix things…” I slowly stood to my feet, my servos clicking quietly, “I’m going to take down that nameless old lady…” I clenched my fists, blue energy sparking from my metallic arm, “I’m going to save my friends. I’m going to fight. And if you’re anything like  _ her… _ ”

I narrowed my eyes, an amber shine visible in the reflection of the glass desk. A new passion, so fiery it set my eyes ablaze.

**“I’ll take you down, too!”** I punched in the old dusty computer monitor, glass shards flying outwards, and white sparks falling to the floor from the contact with my electrified fist. I looked towards the two empty subject tubes, and then the nearby blueprint table, “I’m going to save  _ everyone… _ if I’m so special… if I have the power to change things, then I  **will** !”

I stormed towards the corridor, and then the elevator. Everything was a blur compared to my sorrow-fueled passion.

If I was created to be some sort of soldier, then I’d fight. But I’d choose what I’d fight for, this time.

What I’d always fight for...

**Unity.**

I didn’t have a lot of the answers, and I doubt I’d have all of them. But if fighting is what I was built for, then I’d fight for a world where nobody had to… a world of peace. A world of unity.

Because that’s what made a hero… 

Someone who fought for unity.

Someone who stood for justice.

Someone like me.

Someone… like  **Mega Man.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is one heck of a plot dump! I had a lot of fun writing it, but it took a lot of thought to put into words. I have a ton of lore that's waiting to be revealed; this is only a small part of the world of Northward, and I can't wait to share more of my ideas as I continue to write!
> 
> I like what I've been doing with Aki through the story; breaking him down and building him up, stronger and wiser, while still preserving what makes him Aki.  
> I hope you're all enjoying the story so far, because I'm having so much fun expanding upon the Fully Charged canon in my own way!


	13. "I guess today was pretty great"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Team Light & Co. approach the lost city of Portland, they make a stop to grab some supplies... However, things may not be as they seem when they meet a couple of new friends, and begin to uncover the truth surrounding the Scouts Nexus, and the mystery 'bot behind their adventure...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh gosh. Okay, it's been months, so here's a chapter that's literally 17k words. I couldn't find a place to stop it, so now I'm going to use the excuse that this is a gift for me not writing for like 5 months to cover up my lack of impulse control.
> 
> Seriously though, I hope you enjoy. There may be errors; I wrote this over the course of those 5 months slowly, and we've had some lore changes along with the fact it's so long that I couldn't edit it as neatly as I'd like. Still, here's the continuation! Enjoy!
> 
> (I know paragraphs aren't indented but this is so long that I really just won't bother, at least not tonight. I'll remove this message when it's done.)

_‘Come on!’_ I thought to myself, straining to access a particular string of programming deep in my mind, _‘come on! I know I can do it! I just need to--’_

I yelped as a spark of violent energy crackled through my head. Dang it! I grunted and rubbed my forehead, trying to recover from the sudden spark. Suna looked back at me, slowing her pace so she was right next to me.

“Aki? What’s wrong?” her hand hovered over my shoulder. She was hesitating…

“Nothing.. Just.. trying to go Mega,” I shook my head to clear my thoughts and picked up the pace again. Suna sighed and sped up as well. The sound of cracking twigs intensified as CAL caught up with us, though she was still a fair distance behind. 

“You’re still trying? You know that the EMP knocked your systems offline, not to mention Mini...” she glanced behind us and lowered her voice, “did you find something that might help down in that lab?”

I shut myself up. She knew I didn’t want to talk about it! So why was she so persistent…? I grumbled unintelligibly and crossed my arms.

“No. Stop bringing it up, _please_ ,” I whispered. CAL was catching up. Suna was about to speak again, but a strong armored hand landed on my shoulder.

“Aki! How are you holding up buddy?” she had a smile on her face, but I could tell it was only there to cover up concern. I chuckled nervously, shrinking a bit.

“I’m.. I’m good, CAL. How about you?” 

“Oh I’m swell,” she patted me on the head and fluidly whipped out the checkpoint map, “it looks like we’re almost to the California border checkpoint. I’m sure there’ll be some supplies at the human settlement there. Just another half mile and--”

“Aki! Suna! CAL! Are you alright? You’re rather behind,” my father’s voice emanated from farther ahead. He waved his hand, a bit of a concerned expression on his face. I laughed and waved back.

“We’re fine! Sorry, CAL was showing us the checkpoint map!” I motioned with my head for Suna and CAL to follow me, which they did as I walked towards my patiently waiting father. He eyed my arm as I walked by, but glanced away quickly once I made eye contact with him.

“CAL? Can I take a peek?” Dad held out his hand to take the checkpoint map, which CAL obediently delivered.

“We’re approximately a half mile away from our first checkpoint, sir. Undoubtedly there will be some supplies leftover from the humans’ stay,” she cleared her throat, rubbing the back of her neck, “I uh, don’t know if there’ll be food, though. It’s probably all been scavenged by wild animals.”

“I see…” Dad scanned the map, before nodding and handing it back to CAL, “well, we should be prepared for any encounters. There could be stragglers and less-than-desirable forest animals around the area.” 

“Animals? What kind?” Suna asked, a brow raised, “I doubt there’s any wolves or bears left after the Hard Age…” my father nodded, a grim expression on his face.

“True, but there could also be hybrids and mountain lions roaming the area. We should remain cautious… We need to stay together,” he cleared his throat and knelt down to me, “before we continue, we should make sure everyone is energized,” I knew the drill. I gave him my arm, and he examined it as he dug in his pack.

“Then I should get a granola bar…” Suna said to herself, digging in her own pack. She deliberately looked away. That was nice of her… 

“I’ll uh, get the energy injection kit,” CAL motioned away from me and Dad, turning around and fiddling with the medical kit. I felt more at ease, knowing they wouldn’t have to see Dad doing his job. It was embarrassing enough that they were worried to begin with. At least they could see I didn’t want them around when I needed my arm checked on.

“Your servos appear to be in good repair,” he nodded, rubbing his beard with a large hand, “but your energy transmission seems lacking. I’ll have to look into that…”

“Dad…” I looked away as he pulled out an examination handheld. He paused and looked at me curiously. I felt a pang in my throat. There… There was no way that such a gentle man could have possibly…

“Yes?” he urged. My eyes squeezed shut. I took in a shaky breath, and spoke.

“I saw what was in the lab,” I opened my eyes quickly, and noticed how pale Dad looked. His eyes were wide with shock, his skin a ghostly white. The handheld dropped onto the forest floor with a dull ‘thunk’. He was about to speak, when I recoiled my arm and began to stand up.

“Aki…” he murmured, “I--”

“It doesn’t matter,” I closed my eyes, holding back the soreness in my throat. No. No tears, not right now, “I just… I just thought you deserved to know. Th-That I know. What you had to do…”

**_“It’s more than he deserves.”_ **

Dad’s eyes shone with tears, though none of them built up enough to fall. His lips quivered, before he lowered his head and picked up his examination tool.

“...Y-Your energy transmission is cause for concern,” he sighed, a quiet sniff barely audible as he stood up, “I’ll have to scan your core for any damage,” Dad looked towards the deliberately turned robot scout behind me, “CAL? Could I get an injection kit?”

“Of course, doctoroni,” she said cheerfully, though her voice was quieter. She must have heard our conversation. She handed over a small packet containing a needle and energy cord, very much similar to a human’s IV kit…

To be honest, it really was the same thing. Dad silently unwrapped the needle and IV tube. I sat back down as he worked, trying to ignore the sting of the needle as he worked.

It was still a hazy memory. The lab… I still had questions. So, so many questions. But how would I ask them? Would Dad tell the truth now that I knew that I was…

That I was… 

“All done,” my father’s voice interrupted my thoughts, “hopefully the energy cell will make up for any lost in the past couple of days,” he looked away, a stoic expression on his face. I deflated as he stood up. Was he upset with me…?

“Dad--”

“Look out!” Suna cried. A second later, a silver blur filled my vision. A threatening, ear-piercing scream echoed across the area, jump-starting my core circulation. I didn’t have time to recognize what it was, because--

“DR. LIGHT!” CAL shouted, shock and worry evident in her voice. I spun my head around to see my father pinned to the forest floor, a large augmented beast pinning him down and snapping at his neck with its ferocious teeth. He was just barely holding it back. _Barely._

He needed help. 

I quickly stood to my feet, energy crackling through my eye and down to my arm. A purple blur sped past me, nearly knocking me off of my feet. Seconds later, a metallic ring and a beastly scream ripping through my ears. 

There was Suna, her combat staff planted firmly against the seemingly-now dented side of the odd animal. Her expression was full of determination, but her eyes held a glint of fear. I took the stillness as my chance to leap into action, before the animal got the same idea.

I charged up my arm. The beast swung around and tried to tackle my sister.

Not happening.

A bloodcurdling warcry ripped out of my throat.

Dirt particles flew up as I dug my heels into the ground and stormed behind the beastly robot. It didn’t even see me coming as it knocked Suna to the ground.

I jumped onto its back, my fingers ripping into its metallic plates to keep a firm hold. A sharp stinging ran up my skinned arm as I offloaded as much energy as I could into the beast.

After all, if it was made of metal, then it’d be susceptible to electricity… 

Wait--!

[>Locking onto external core]

[>External core accessed manually.]

[>Transferring nexus data to external core.]

[>Defense systems online.]

A low growl.

A blue flash.

And then impact--

...

And then someone shouted my name.

“Aki!” that was Suna’s voice, “Aki! Are you okay?!” I felt hands on my chest and I opened my eyes to see what was going on.

I coughed and looked around. My father was recovering, and CAL was examining the collapsed robot in front of us. 

“Aki! Your arm!” Suna’s eyes widened, staring at my left side with shock. I followed her gaze, and nearly jumped at the sight.

My buster…! 

I couldn’t help but smile as I caught sight of the familiar blue cannon now formed in all of its awesome glory. I laughed and felt my smile widen.

How.. How did that happen? Was it the robot’s programming? 

Who cared?! I had my buster back! 

“Aki,” I heard my father’s warning tone, “what happened? Are you and Suna alright?” he coughed a bit. Probably normal, after all he _was_ pummeled into the ground.

“Are _you_ alright, Dad?” Suna glanced at his arm, “your cut wasn’t reopened, was it?”

“No, I’m fine,” he shook his head, “what I’m concerned about is why this robot was so far from a designated United Ones facility… and what happened to it and Aki,” he looked at me, worried eyes boring intensely into my buster, “can I take a look, son?”

I nodded, sitting up and holding out my buster arm. It appeared rather pristine, though there were some old energy stains… I wasn’t exactly eating enough synthesis metals to regenerate, and.. Mini wasn’t _around_ to repair it manually.

“It appears… rather fine, actually,” Dad’s brows furrowed in thought, “odd. Usually, synthesis metals are required for robots to regenerate their structure, but you seemed to have regenerated it slowly overtime…” he looked away and closed his eyes, “still…” his grip on the buster shifted and he looked over it again, “I’d advise against using it for now. It could still need manual repairs. If we find any tools at the checkpoint, I’ll do my best.”

I regenerated manually? Was that a Superior Master thing, too? And if so… I never noticed it before. 

“Is it because I’m…” I gave my Dad a look that I hoped would insinuate my meaning; the lab. 

“Possibly,” he got up on a knee and stood, “your makeup is rather unique, and there could still be… side effects that we don’t know about.”

“What side effects?” Suna asked, looking up from tinkering with her combat staff, “is something wrong with Aki?” she glanced at me, concern evident in her expression. Dad let out a heavy sigh.

“That’s something to ask him, I’m afraid,” he said no more as he walked back over to the robot. Suna’s worried gaze lingered on me, before she slowly went back to tinkering with her staff. I silently hoped she wouldn’t ask at all.

“So… Why _is_ it all the way out here?” CAL spoke up, playfully poking the robot’s nose, “it looks kinda weird…”

“This, CAL, is one of the fastest, fiercest scout machines built by the United Ones,” my father’s tone took on that of a college professor’s. It was almost endearing, “it was modeled after the cougar, for both speed and discretion on the battlefield,” he rested his rough palm on its head, leaning on it slightly, “however, I have no clue how it came out so far. As far as the checkpoint map is concerned, there’s no facilities aside from the border checkpoint up ahead.”

“And they didn’t keep defenses there?” I spoke up, furrowing a brow in thought.

“Not cyber beasts, no,” my father stopped leaning, instead looking over the mild electrical damage along its lithe plates that I’d no doubt caused, “humans and a few rounds of .50 caliburs were enough to keep people out of the Oregonian forests. During the Hard Age, robots typically began to make their own cyber beasts,” he shook his head and pulled out a diagnostic tool from his tool-belt.

“In fact, the frontline robots made their own after a pack of robo-wolves took out an entire scout platoon,” CAL lifted a finger in the air, as if she were lecturing us, “they were distinctly different, though. The various Nexus cyber beasts were very bright colored, and had a lot of style!” she giggled a bit, waving her fingers mystically in the air, “the superior masters had their own, but they were more for dress-up than actual battles.”

“...And human models were dark colored. Intimidating, like this one,” my father’s voice sounded low and ominous, “we don’t know when this thing will wake up--”

Suddenly, the cyber cougar moved, a high-pitched whine emitting from its augmented mouth. Bright purple eyes opened, scanning their surroundings. Dad backed away, while CAL simply looked at it with fond eyes. My core pumped a bit faster as a new sensation registered in the back of my head. I knew that sensation well; it was like CAL’s. There, but idly. This one was different; it felt wild and untamed. It felt… afraid. I reached out for the feeling, but it recoiled. The cougar suddenly leapt to its feet and looked around at me. Its eyes, though they were beastlike, held a certain recognition… for me?

“Aki… Get away from it,” Suna warned. CAL simply waved Suna away.

“No, No. Watch!” she said in a hushed voice, “it’s a part of the nexus! How miraculous...”

“Wh-What?!” Suna backed away as she was told, but surprise and intelligent curiosity traced her features. In hindsight, it wasn’t that much of a surprise CAL was aware… she was a part of my Nexus as well.

The cougar approached me, a low ‘purr’ emitting from its shifting plated throat. Its eyes were scanning me for a sign of weakness. I could feel it probing me in the nexus as well. 

It was testing me.

I smiled at it softly, though inside of my chest my core was pounding like a drum. 

“Heh… Hey buddy,” I tried to reach out my skinned hand, but it recoiled, “what’s wrong?” I murmured, my smile disappearing, “not a guy? I get it. I have a sister,” I chuckled, a mirthful grin returning tenfold onto my face as the cougar seemed to relax. I could feel her ease at my amused demeanor, in the oddest way.

I could almost feel Suna rolling her eyes, but I kept my sights on the cyber beast before me. She let out a mix between a growl and a purr, before she approached in earnest. Her forehead pressed against my outstretched hand. A spark ripped through my arm, up into the back of my head.

She trusted me.

“Aki?” Dad questioned, approaching cautiously, “what happened?”

I tried to open my mouth to respond, but the nexus had stolen my attention. It was calling to me. The cyber beast had demanded my presence… how could it? Wasn’t this my nexus?

“Doctor, they’re bound by the nexus,” CAL gasped, “how it’s possible a robot of unknown origin could include a human war contraption to a nexus is beyond me…” she suddenly grinned and put her hands on her hips, “but Aki is known for out-doing himself. He really does break the mold, doesn’t he?”

“Yes, he does,” my father’s voice held a proud warmth, but my vision was tunneling. It was suddenly very hard to see... I pulled my hand away from the cougar, who opened her eyes and looked at me curiously. The tunneling stopped, and my senses returned to their normal states.

Well… if she was connected to the nexus, then she’d be sticking with us.

...She’d need a name, huh?

“So… What should I call her?” I said, standing to my feet with a bit of a wobble. My father tried to speak.

“Aki, I--”

“How does Kossori sound?” Suna spoke up. I looked to her, and was a bit taken aback by her smile. She was looking at me expectantly, “she was made to be sneaky, right? Why not give her a name to match the occupation?” the cougar looked at her indifferently, flicking her brunt tail in acknowledgement. 

“Huh…” I looked back down at the cougar. I… never really came up with names before. Except for Rush. And that decoy robot. I guess I’d just trust Suna with this one, “...well, girl? How does it sound?” the cougar looked back at me, her eyes still appearing indifferent. Something told me she didn’t have much capacity to care, and I just shrugged, “guess she’s fine with it.”

“Aki, I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to take… ‘Kossori’ with us…” my father said hesitantly. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

“She’s a part of my nexus-whatever,” I gave him a tired stare, “she can’t act against me, right?” that… was actually a valid question. I looked to CAL, who was still fawning over the beast.

“Oh!” she snapped out of it visibly, “no. While lesser robots and Robot Masters can act against their Superior Master, a cyber beast, especially a human design, couldn’t possibly…” she shook her head, “and with how far you’ve gotten with her already, I’d say she’s with you for life!” CAL’s smile couldn’t get any wider as she returned to observing the relatively docile Kossori. The cougar simply gave her a flick of a tail.

“Then I guess Kossori stays,” I looked back at Dad, an eyebrow raised. Was he _really_ going to challenge this? I mean, he had to have seen her! She was so calm… compared to, like, five minutes ago when she was trying to kill him. 

I could see his face cycling through a range of different emotions, before he settled on an exasperated smile and a laugh.

“Okay, son. I’ll trust you on this,” he looked at the cougar with wary eyes, before his gaze softened, “she’ll make a fine addition, I’m sure.”

“However, the concern of supplies still stands. We should get a move-on to the checkpoint before we need to spend another night hungry,” CAL interjected, pulling up the checkpoint map, “it hasn’t gone anywhere, and we still have plenty of daylight. We should head out if everyone is ready.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Suna swiped up her supply bags and slung them over her shoulders, looking back at Kossori for a moment, “she’ll follow, right?”

I shrugged.

“Probably.”

“Good enough for me,” she rolled her eyes at my lackluster response, “for the record; if she makes messes,” a deadpan expression crossed her face, “I’m _not_ cleaning it up.”

Oh. Right… Did cyber beasts eat?

“Hah… Hah.. I’ll handle it,” I recovered from my stupor and put on a makeshift smirk, “I handle Rush, don’t I?”

“Rush wasn’t a wild animal built for war,” my father butted in, warm humor in his eyes as he walked over to Suna, “but I’m sure we can manage, as long as she isn’t a biter…” I thought it was odd, how quickly Dad jumped back from being so… melancholy. Yeah, that was a good word. How was he so quick to go from near-tears to smiles…?

Was it that easy to forget?

...Guess it was, considering he never spoke about it for God-knows how long.

I looked down at Kossori, who was surveying the area quizzically with intelligent violet eyes. I watched her as the other packed up their things; she seemed.. Smarter than what they were implying. Was her apparent intellect the reason she was so far out from a United Ones base? 

**_“Making new friends?”_ **

Kossori’s rounded metallic ears flicked towards me, her eyes sharp and intelligently scanning me. Did she hear that voice, too? I shook my head and smiled at her.

“Guess you know more than meets the eye, huh?” I looked down at my buster and willed it away, blue particles dissipating into the air as my forearm returned to being. Kossori appeared perturbed by its disappearance, but didn’t seem to give much of a care once I used my now-revealed hand to give her head a scratch, “let’s go. The others are waiting for us.”

I began walking towards my now-prepared travel companions, and the cougar followed me obediently.

I couldn’t help but smile.

At least we had some extra protection.

***

The trees seemed so thick that it was almost like they’d never break. The underbrush was no exception; Dad needed to pull out his old machete from our now-limited supplies to even get past a nasty bunch of foliage. 

But eventually, we sliced into a clearing. CAL gasped as we emerged into the open space. My father followed, breathing out a whimsical ‘incredible’. I couldn’t help but gaze in wonder, myself.

Before us was a lush vista, full of great mountains dotted with waterfalls and rocky protrusions. Thick foggy clouds blocked any view of the mountain peaks as they glided across the blue sky. Old human ruins tarnished the view slightly, ugly spires and old crashed warships sticking up from the green and lively forests below. Their smoke and stench had long since been blown away by gentle breezes, and their forms were overgrown with plantlife. But their imposing, threatening silhouettes still darkened the sprawling Oregonian panoramas. 

Brightly colored ships, and even war-machine frames were visible in the fray. The dots connected in my head quite quickly, but Suna said it before I could.

“It… was a warzone,” Suna noted as she moved closer to me, possibly out of fear, “how… how many people died here…?”

“Let’s hope we don’t need to find out,” I said, a grim expression on my face. Sure, I’d seen artistic interpretations of the Hard wars, but I’d never seen the destruction for myself… or how quickly nature could cover it up. It was sad, really… Almost surreal, in a way. 

“Let’s keep moving,” Dad said lowly, “we don’t want to stick around here more than we have to,” CAL hummed in agreement, and Suna followed. The wispy sound of feet on grass faded away as they walked down the hill clearing, back into the forests below. I gave the view one last sad look, before I clicked my tongue to signal Kossori and followed the others down into the forest. The cougar rubbed past me, almost sympathetically. Maybe she could sense my distress?

As the shadows of the canopy blotted out the pale sun, I observed my surroundings with mild interest. It seemed there were more than just ships scattered around the forests, as robotic remains were in great abundance. Some even laid deactivated with their damaged cyber beasts and war machines. A twinge of sickness contorted in my synthetic gut. It was incredibly unsettling… seeing so many lives lost to simple human supremacy. 

Even if some of them were good-hearted… the United Ones still held the advantage. 

I had to look on and question; why? Why would you enslave us? Why would you force your own kind to fight a war that never should have been…? Why would you go against everything human in favor of attaining a higher status?

...Why would you turn your own children into monsters?

I looked down at myself as I walked, glaring at my arm with contempt. Was I robot? Was I human? What was I supposed to _be_?! What side should I have believed in? Even after declaring myself a friend of unity, I still sought the answers to my very existence, and it had been tearing me apart inside ever since I entered that lab. Ever since I met CAL… ever since I was rotting in the blood-soaked streets of Silicon City.

“Aki? Are you okay?” I heard Suna ask, feeling a hand on my back a moment later, “You look worried.”.

“Oh,” I said quietly, looking at her, “I’m okay, yeah. Just thinking…”

“About the lab?” her hand fell back to her side, “You can tell me about it, you know… Whatever you saw? I don’t care,” Suna’s brows furrowed a bit, sadness carried in her voice, “I just want my brother back.”

I sighed at that. Everything was changing… I had no idea if I’d ever even be the same after learning so much…

And something told me I’d be learning a hell of a lot more.

“Aki…” I heard CAL say from a bit farther ahead, “you might want to take a look at this.”

I raised an eyebrow, walking a bit farther ahead.

“What is it?” I asked as I came upon CAL, who passed the checkpoint map to me.

I stared at the map, confused. The base was just ahead.

“What’s the matter?” I rubbed the back of my head, “it’s showing what it should be, right?”

“Yes, but take a look… over there!” she pointed at the upper right corner. And there it was; an odd blip on the holographic map, pulsing in an odd pattern.

“What is it supposed to be? Some weird human signal?” I shrugged, handing the map back to her, “what’s your point, anyways?” I didn’t see what the big deal was… It was incredibly probable there’d still be some odd signals if these were human war ships, right?

“No,” she shook her head, putting the checkpoint map back in her pack, “it’s of robot origin,” suddenly, a wide smile grew on her face, “it’s a distress beacon! Maybe there’s something, or someone, there!” 

Oh.

“I don’t think it’d be a good idea to check it out,” my father said suddenly. I looked up to see him examining the remains of an overgrown war machine, “if we’re to get to the High Science Council in time, we shouldn’t make unnecessary stops.”

“But there could be supplies. You can’t deny it’s a possible chance to restock,” Suna tried to reason, stepping next to me and CAL, “the ruins may not be enough for us to last until the next checkpoint.”

“Even so, there could be remaining attackers. If ‘Kossori’ was still functioning...” Dad’s expression became thoughtful, “...I don’t think Aki’s buster is ready to be used, and CAL’s power levels are fluctuating. We should--”

“Me and Suna can go,” I cut in, “I’ll keep her safe,” Suna looked at me, stunned. A confident smile made its way onto my face, “even if I can’t use my buster, I still have my arm,” my smile morphed into a smirk, “plus she has her staff. We’ll bring back any supplies we find. You and CAL can look around in the border! It can’t be that dangerous, right?”

My father gave me an unassured gaze, but CAL walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. She had the look on her face that said she was about to crack a joke.

“Doctor,” CAL flipped an old rusty nanocore pistol out from its compartment holster in her thigh, “if anything tries to snap at your neck again,” she examined the lightweight gun and spun it in her hand with adept finger movements. That… actually looked pretty cool, “it’s pretty hard to outrun a blast from this old thing. I’ll keep an eye out; we should take as many possible chances as we can to get supplies, especially out in this warpit.”

Dad tried to argue, glancing at me with focused concern. CAL just shrugged.

“They’re kids; let them get into a bit of trouble, huh?” she nudged him, “I know you’re their Dad n’ all and I don’t exactly have a right to tell you how to do your job… but…”

CAL leaned into Dad’s ear, whispering something to him. I shuffled awkwardly as his eyes narrowed a bit. What was she telling him?

“...Very well,” he looked away from CAL, back to me. His expression was fairly mild, but the slightest air of reserved sadness was about him, “Aki. Be wary out here; there’s plenty of hidden dangers, not all of them from the Hard age. Be back by sunset. If we don’t hear word back, we’ll come searching for you.”

“Don’t worry, Dad,” I gave him a painfully wide grin, “we’ll be fine.” 

With that, I spun on my heel and walked in another direction.

“Aki,” Suna cleared her throat awkwardly. I looked back at her, “the signal was this way,” she pointed to the near-opposite way I had been heading. Welp… 

“I knew that,” I rolled my eyes, quietly hoping that was a good recovery. I stiffly walked after a seemingly-annoyed Suna, feeling Dad’s eyes on me until we disappeared into the foliage.

“Hopefully that big cat has a good nose,” Suna remarked as Kossori caught up with us, “or we’ll be riding blind. CAL has the map.”

“I have the coordinates,” I shrugged. I didn’t exactly have the coordinates, but I remembered the map’s image clear as day. Definitely one of the bonuses of having a robot’s functions, “we’ll be fine. Just don’t, like, get eaten by some giant spider with guns.”

“Ugh, hopefully we won’t be seeing another one of _those_ on this trip,” Suna shuddered visible, “I have enough to worry about.”

“Worry about?” I asked. That was… odd. I mean, yeah, she worried. How could she not, having nightmares every night for over a month?

“You know, Dad’s injury, and you trying to get yourself killed every five seconds?” she rolled her eyes sarcastically, though it felt like she was hiding something.

“Okay, _first of all…_ ” I lifted my finger in a lecturing fashion, “I’m not _trying_. Second of all,” I put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. She looked at me with teary eyes, and I gave her a sympathetic look, “you don’t need to take responsibility for us. If me or CAL get shut down out here, it won’t be on you.”

Suna looked at me sadly, before she dropped her head. Sobs were audible soon after. Kossori rubbed against Suna’s legs with a low murr, but it did little to help. My eyes widened, and I held both of Suna’s shoulders gently.

“Woah, hey,” I said gently, “I-I’m sorry. I know this is a lot… I know. This has been pretty stressful--”

“That isn’t it at all!” she looked up at me, glaring past her tears, “this trip is stressful, sure,” a few more sobs escaped her before she bothered to speak again, “but the part I can’t stand is what it’s doing to _you!_ ” Suna brushed a few hairs out of her face, crossing her arms around herself. 

“What..?” 

“You know what I’m talking about. You were damaging yourself, for God’s sakes,” I took my hands away to give her some space, instinctively grasping my skinned arm, “I know you aren’t anymore but-- God it… it kills me. To see you hiding things from me.”

I took a step back, feeling a guilty lump rising in my throat. She was… right, in a way. I was hiding things.

“I only do that to protect you! I--”

“I don’t need protecting, Aki!” she shouted, “I’m the one who’s supposed to be keeping _you_ safe…”

I closed my eyes, letting my head sag a bit. Perhaps I was… too secretive. Maybe I just needed to stop suffering in silence. 

After all, every time I tried to do that, it ended up dividing us as a family…

Just like Dad… He was suffering too. For _years._ It must have been both a relief and a worry to know that I’d finally found out about…

“Suna,” I said quietly, clenching my hands, “if I promise to tell you after we get back to CAL and Dad… will you keep it a secret?” Dad may have known, but CAL didn’t need to.

Suna looked at me, stunned. And then, her expression turned warm, despite the tears still flowing down her cheeks.

“You worry too much,” she wiped the tears from her eyes. I wanted to roll mine. Hypocrite, “I won’t tell anyone…”

“Good. Let’s go see what that signal has in store,” I smiled and looked towards the general direction of our goal. A smirk spread across my face. What better way to get there and back before sunset…? And possibly cheer up Suna?

Suna opened her mouth to ask me what I was planning, but before she could speak, I grabbed her hand and began to run. Kossori growled lowly and followed after.

The crunching of foliage and pine needles on the forest floor filled my ears as I jogged and leaped over roots. Suna yelped and dragged behind a bit, but soon seemed to find her traction.

“A-Aki! What are you doing?!” she cried as I picked up speed just slightly, “I can’t run as fast as you!”

“Well, why not try?” I looked back for a moment. Suna was still struggling to keep up, but I kept a tight grip on her hand, “you kept up when I was Mega Man.. Why not try keeping up now?”

“I am!”

“Nah,” I chuckled, keeping my pace the same. It’d still take a bit for us to arrive, anyhow, “I think you can do better!”

“But--”

“I _know_ you can!” I did. I believed she could keep up with me, like she used to. After all, she’d run everywhere to provide support. Honestly, pretty impressive, “don’t let the air drag you down! Work with it, not against it!”

“I’m--” she took a moment to take a few breaths, “not exactly aerodynamic, ro-bro,” she began to slide again.

“Well, you can be,” I slowed the pace ever so slightly. She _did_ sound a bit tired, “remember your moves at the lighthouse? You were flying around with that staff of your’s.”

“That was different!”

“How?” I glanced back again. Her feet seemed to be sticking a bit better, at least. That was a good sign, “nothing’s stopping you from whipping that thing around like you were, right?”

“I--” she stopped, and then a few breathy laughs twinkled through the rushing air, “don’t play my own game against me! _I’m_ the one who’s supposed to be moral support.”

“But it worked, didn’t it?” I smiled, a feeling of relief relaxing my shoulders. I let go of her hand, looking ahead. The sound of footsteps emanated from my right. 

There was Suna, sprinting next to me. She appeared a bit flushed, but otherwise seemed relatively okay, “one thing I learned through all of this…” I sighed and slowed a bit more, as to not tire out my sister too fast, “is that you can’t burden yourself with everything at once, especially when those things aren’t your fault,” I looked down at my feet, then back at the target direction, “we’re all grieving together. We shouldn’t carry regret and pretend to be the only one who feels it. Because… we all do. We all _are_.”

A laugh.

“When did you decide to get so smart?” Suna asked through her tired breaths.

“I guess the time was right,” I said quietly. I slowed my pace considerably. We were close to the blip.

“Whatever you found in that lab must’ve been…” she trailed off. I didn’t answer. Luckily, the location was just up ahead. I skidded to a stop, nearly tripping over a mess of mossy roots. I heard Suna stop as well, evident by the panting.

“We’re here,” I said lowly, “we don’t know how long this has been here, we should be careful,” yeesh. Suna was right, I _was_ getting smarter. Part of me definitely didn’t like that.

“Kossori, you got that?” Suna whispered to the idly standing war-cougar. Kossori simply glanced at her, and flicked her tail dismissively. I guess I’d have to direct her through the Nexus...

“Let’s move,” with a simple command in my programming, my buster formed on my left forearm. Suna glanced at it worriedly, but said nothing as I crouched down and began to move through the underbrush.

We were pretty quiet, all things considered. Despite the occasional crunch of a twig or the breezy shifting of leaves, things were going fairly well. Nothing had really been alerted, aside from a few bugs and a squirrel.

A loud and robotic screech from Kossori caught me off guard, and I looked around.

...Just in time to see a kunai headed right for me. I rolled out of the way, watching as the blade embedded itself in a mossy tree nearby. I heard Suna’s cry of alarm, and made careful care to position myself in front of her. With wide eyes and lightning fast reflexes I looked at the direction the kunai had come from. Before my eyes was a sleek robot in ninja-like armor. They glared at me with intelligent red eyes, but stood perfectly still behind a lush patch of ferns. I could feel their signal rushing over me in waves, intensely scanning me.

“Who are you?” I called to the robot. They didn’t respond… not much surprise there.

The robot suddenly turned tail and ran.

“Hey!” I cried, making chase.

“Aki! Come back!” Suna shouted after me. I stopped for a moment, looking back. 

“Kossori, stay with Suna!” I commanded my cyber beast, whose sharp purple eyes seemed to communicate bored understanding. That would have to be enough… I needed to find this robot and try to establish contact. If I couldn’t make peace with them, I would have to put them down. It was too dangerous to leave them out here where they could be a danger. Without another word, I bolted off in the direction the lithe robot went.

The green forest was a blur as I bolted as fast as I could, dodging and leaping through obstacles with practiced agility. No sign of them… but they had to have been hiding here somewhere.

_Shink!_

Another kunai flew past me, cutting my left cheek open a tad. That was probably going to scar... I stumbled a bit, catching my foot on a rock. I slammed into the moist ground, _hard._

“Shoot!” I hissed, holding my cheek with my skinned hand. It felt warm and wet.. I pulled my hand away and looked at the gently glowing blue fluid on my metallic fingertips, “great…” I narrowed my eyes and looked around, “listen, buddy, we don’t need to fight, okay? I’m sure we could just--”

I felt a sharp, forceful pain in my shin, and a pained cry escaped my lips. Dammit! I needed to get myself up so I didn’t--

**“HRK--”** as I tried to stand up, yet another blade embedded itself into me. The pain radiated from my back, “stop it! I just want to talk!” I choked out, my hands digging into the humid mossy dirt. My feet found traction, and I hefted myself up.

“Talk? Robots no talk,” a somewhat distorted male voice hissed from somewhere nearby, “robots hurt Jiro. Leave Jiro behind!”

“Who’s Jiro?” I gasped, feeling around my back for the kunai that was thrown, “are they your friend..?”

“No!” the voice shrieked suddenly, causing me to flinch. Man, this ‘bot was loud, “Jiro is he. Jiro is me, me, me!” suddenly the voice seemed to come closer, “who is the child, in front of Jiro’s eyes? No enemy. Enemy no talk…”

I raised an eyebrow. At least he was talking… sort of?

“I’m Aki,” I finally located the blade, and tugged it out of my back. I threw it to the ground and kicked it away, “I’m not gonna hurt’cha. Why are you all the way out here?”

“Jiro is hiding,” with a bright flash, the same ninja-like robot who attacked us was right in front of me. His once scrutinous eyes were now wild and narrow, “humans coming. Aki must come with Jiro! Hide with him… yes yes--” Jiro glanced around erratically, before coming closer and… sniffing me?

“Uhhh…” I looked away awkwardly. Sheesh… how long was he out here?

“The Aki stinks of humans,” he hissed, “is Aki a deserter?!” before I realized it, another kunai was pressed firmly to my neck.

“No! I’m not even… no, no!” I shook my head and tried to back away, “the war’s been over for decades, dude!” 

“Nnnn…” Jiro squinted at me, “where the Aki come from? The Aki no dressed like fighter…”

“Silicon City, down south in California,” I sighed with relief as he withdrew his blade. At least I wasn’t being cut up, “me and my family are on our way North.”

“Why?” Jiro crouched onto the forest floor, scratching at the dirt and sniffing the air. He still seemed somewhat focused… probably? I couldn’t tell.

“Silicon City was attacked, so we’re going to find help.”

“Who attack? Humans?” Jiro’s interest piqued as I mentioned an attack. I wasn’t sure if I should have been unsettled or what.

“N..No. A weird robot…” the memory of the tall, lanky robot woman emerging from the wild flames popped into my head for just a moment, “she attacked and took my friends. I’m trying to--”

“Aki! Aki where are you?!” Suna’s voice rang out through the forest, and Jiro seemed to stiffen. I quietly readied my buster, just in case.

“It the human rat! She calling for the Aki?” he looked at me with confusion, “why human with robot in forest?”

“She’s my sister, Suna! Don’t hurt her,” I felt my servos tighten as Jiro looked at me with a mix of both negative and positive emotions.

“Robot has human sister? How?” I was a bit taken aback by that. Were none of the hard age robots open-minded enough to imagine such peace with humanity… that we’d intermix into families…?

“My father made me. And… he made Suna,” I said awkwardly, “so, like, that makes me her brother, right? Didn’t robots back in the Hard Age have families?”

“...No. Only family nexus. Nexus gone,” Jiro seemed to deflate. Oh... right. Nexi, “robots made to fight. Fighting what Jiro do. Jiro have no time for families.”

A depressed feeling came over me, and I couldn’t help but sigh.

“That’s so sad…” Jiro looked at me as I spoke, seemingly surprised, “everyone deserves a family.”

“What family good for? Family no fight,” Jiro hissed, scanning me with critical eyes.

“Family is… hard to explain,” I looked down, thinking, “family picks you up when you fall. Family builds you and makes you who you are. Family doesn’t have to be just a mother, father and children,” Jiro watched me, his gaze becoming less critical, and more understanding as I went on, “family can be anyone you trust and love. Family can be an entire Nexus, or just one person!”

“So… family love?” Jiro’s tone became thoughtful, “others share love. Family fight not each other. Family fight for other family?”

A big smile spread across my face. Yes!

“Exactly!” I nodded with approval, “you’re a fast learner, Jiro!”

Jiro looked at me, perturbed, and then smiled.

“Jiro have family! Soft bite beast! Come,” he suddenly grabbed my right hand and pulled a bit, causing me just the slightest bit of pain, “Jiro want the Aki to meet Jiro’s family!”

“Are you sure…?” I glanced around awkwardly. I wasn’t exactly comfortable with that. Suna was looking for me, too, “I should--”

A loud scream ripped through the air, followed by a… bleat?

“Jiro’s bite beast! In trouble?!” Jiro let go of my hand, sniffing the air rapidly and hissing.

“That was Suna!” I looked around frantically, “Suna! Where are you?!”

“The scream, this way!” Jiro stamped his feet a bit and crawled in a certain direction. Oookay… that was weird, “same way as bite beast! Follow Jiro!”

“Uh--”

“Come! No time,” Jiro dashed off. I blinked and followed, deciding I didn’t really have much choice if he knew where my sister was. I sped off after him, readying my buster in case of trouble.

Turned out it wasn’t really that far away. Just a quarter mile away, a confusing and oddly amusing sight awaited me.

There was Suna, cornered by an abnormally large mountain goat that was blankly sniffing her face. She appeared somewhat shaken, and sort of covered in saliva? Ew. Moving on.

“Hey,” I chuckled, approaching slowly. My shin stung considerably, but I still managed to have a smile on my face. Somehow, “having fun there?” Suna gave me an unamused, slightly upset look.

“Don’t you dare laugh,” her eyes darted to Jiro, who was excitedly approaching the odd goat.

“Bite beast! Did it miss Jiro?” the ninja-like bot began petting the goat enthusiastically, catching a look from Suna. The goat didn’t really do much aside from stop chewing at Suna’s hair. She seemed to take the hint and hurriedly stepped around the goat. I smirked as she frantically wiped the goat spit from her face and fixed her hair back.

“Who is that?” she tilted her head towards Jiro, “and why is he sniffing that goat…?” Wait. What? I looked up to see Jiro sniffing the goat’s fur with a huge smile on his face. Okay then.

“Heh… hah… hah…” my laugh trailed off into an awkward expression, “his name is Jiro. He uh, kind of stabbed me three times. But he’s cool now!” I cleared my throat, “if uh, sniffing a goat is.. Cool? I guess?”

Suna just gave me a deadpan expression, although her eyes widened at the mention of ‘stab’.

“Where’d he stab you?” her expression became somewhat more expressive as I turned around.

“Back here. And my leg,” a moment later, I felt her fingers probing the area on my back. It took every bit of my willpower not to flinch away; it really did hurt. 

“We should ask about that signal and get back as soon as we can. We can’t afford for you to lose more energy,” I heard strange crinkling, and turned slightly to see Suna pulling some gauze and medical tape from her hoodie pockets, “even if your wounds can’t get infected, we should still patch them up to prevent any more bleeding. With your self-repair systems underperforming, it’ll be important that we stop any leakage.”

“Jeez…” I sighed and rubbed the back of my head, “wish I could just eat something and be fine the next morning like old times,” it really was so simple back then. Eat enough synthesis polymer, wake up feeling like new, and nobody was none the wiser.

“Well…” I could feel her beginning to gently pad the area with gauze, and I tried my best to tune out the pain, “now you know what it’s like to be human. We don’t get the luxury of learning everything in a matter of a couple of days, or healing overnight… you have to limit yourself for the sake of your health,” she stopped for a moment, and then resumed patching me up.

“Yeesh, must be awful,” I couldn’t help but flinch as she applied pressure to my back wound, and started to wrap the bandaging around my torso. She did stop for a moment asking me to lift up my arms, and then spoke further.

“It comes with the territory. We’re used to it; we live through it day by day and understand that…” she stopped, presumably thinking, “...sometimes, it’s better to slow down and let yourself be okay.”

I rolled my eyes and scoffed.

“I don’t need to ‘slow down’, Suna,” I smirked, even though she couldn’t see it, “even if I’m a little damaged I can still-- shoot!” I cried out as something jabbed into the general area of the stab wound, “what was that?!”

“What you do to the Aki?” Jiro’s voice rang out, apprehension evident in his crazed intonations, “he covered in human device!”

“It’s bandaging,” Suna spoke with a bit of shakiness in her voice. I didn’t blame her, “careful! Don’t touch that--”

Another pang of pain.

“Jeez, Jiro!” I whipped around, ignoring the pain in my leg as I put pressure on it, “stop--”

A metallic finger poked my nose. I flinched on contact.

After a moment of nothing, I slowly opened my right eye and saw Jiro staring at me… uncomfortably close to my face.

“Why the Aki wear human device?” his finger had already been removed from my nose. That was… uncomfortable. Less-so than being less than two inches from this crazy-bot’s face, though.

“It’s to keep me from bleeding,” I backed away, “er, leaking. You kind of stabbed me, so Suna needs to make sure I--”

“So… human sister is helping Jiro’s friend?” wait, friend? Who said I was his--

“Yes, I am,” Suna stepped in, “and I’d appreciate it if you could let me _finish_. He can’t sit here bleeding out all day,” Jiro looked at her for a moment, before backing away, “thank you.”

Kossori walked over to Jiro and began sniffing him as Suna resumed patching me up. Rolling my eyes, I looked away. I really didn’t want to watch the guy sniff my cat.

Erm, war-cat? Big cat? I’d have to ask Dad what Kossori categorized as later…

It felt like hours before Suna had examined my leg wound and patched it up. Oddly enough, that felt like the worst of my injuries.

Once I was fully patched up, Suna stood and looked me over.

“Can you stand?” she held out her hand. I looked at her and smiled, grabbing her extended hand and hefting myself up. Jiro looked up, eyes scanning me with mild interest.

“The Aki is okay, yes?” he squinted at my bandages with mistrust. I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, but responded all the same.

“Yeah, I’m good now,” my eyes darted to Suna, who was trying to lead Kossori away from Jiro, “so uh, we found a radar signal nearby… Would you know anything about that?”

“Yes, yes! Jiro have old junk,” his eyes darted around erratically before he continued, “Jiro have very good radio-thing. He not know how to turn it off! Jiro don’t mind giving some stuff to the Aki, if he wants old garbage!”

I sighed, somewhat relieved. This could be a simple in-and-out trip! ...Aside from getting myself stabbed, of course.

“Awesome! Thanks, man,” I smiled at him. Jiro tilted his head, and smiled as well… even if it was super crooked and awkward looking, “could you lead us there? It’d be better than tripping over ourselves trying to find it.”

Jiro nodded quickly, beckoning me and my sister along with him. Suna looked at me like I was crazy, but I just shrugged.

Yeah, Jiro was odd. Uh, super odd. And stabbed me. And tried to kill Suna. But he was just misguided! He didn’t understand the way things worked after the war… And being out there alone couldn’t have helped, either. Loneliness was a poison, even for robots. It had been around forty years since the Hard Wars, and that was more than enough time for anyone to go mad…

All he needed was someone to look past his broken exterior and strange behaviors and tell him that everything was different… that he didn’t need to fight anymore.

That’s all anyone deserves; a second chance.

***

Suna and I had been walking for at least ten minutes behind Jiro, when the distant sound of running water caught our attention. It wasn’t like a stream or a creek, or even a river. It was loud, crashing and forceful.

“A waterfall…” Suna muttered. I glanced at her for a moment.

“Yeah.”

“I’ve never seen one in person… Do you think we’ll get a look?” I couldn’t help but smile. I was a bit excited, too, honestly. Waterfalls weren’t all that common in Silicon City… not naturally at least. It was either open fields or forests, and man-made gardens or landscapes.

“I hope so! I’ve only ever seen them in pictures and videos… I’ll have to take notes!” Suna continued. I let out a short hum, my shoulders relaxing. It was like old times, really. Suna studying, me being reckless and having a pet come along with us. The breeze, the forest...

Except it wasn’t old times.

My breath hitched in my throat as I was pulled back into reality. We had a mission to complete. No time for memories. Just… Just keep looking forward.

“Here, stop!” Jiro barked suddenly, causing me to jump a bit.

“What’s up?” Suna queried, “are we there?”

“Yes, human girl is right!” Jiro pried apart the thick underbrush excitedly, “come see! Come, come!” Suna slowly approached. She still seemed apprehensive, but as soon as she stuck her head outside of the bushes, that seemed to melt away.

“Oh…” she gasped, “Aki! Come look at this!” I moved closer, squeezing in and brushing aside some foliage. Warm sunlight instantly hit my face, causing my vision to go blank for a moment. But once my eyes adjusted…

An almost untouched cavernous glade, waterfalls big and small emerging from the many eroded tunnels and holes along the rounded rocky cliffs covered by a sprawling, lush canopy far above. The cool rushing waterfalls trailed down far below, into an underground lake surrounded by colorful, near-alien flora. The odd, twisted and water-soaked rocks that formed the near-cylindrical cavern were covered by ivy and other fern-like plants anywhere they could grow, making the place seem even more mythical than it already was.

Down below at the lake’s lapping edges were what seemed to be deer. How could they have gotten so far below…? I decided it must have been because of the abnormal tunnels that gave this alien landscape its shape. 

“Is this… where the signal came from?” Suna breathed. I looked at her, a stupid grin on my face. Maybe this is what she needed… a view just like this! Not to mention, the view was absolutely breathtaking. I couldn’t help but smile at its sheer magnificence.

“Would Jiro lie? Come, Jiro leads his friends to his junk pile!” Jiro jerked a bit, stepping through the foliage and beckoning us, “there is no ledge! Jiro promises.”

Suna looked at me, but soon shuffled through the brushes. The sound of rustling leaves gave way to shoe treads on rock. Jiro looked to me expectantly, and I swallowed my nerves. I stepped cautiously through the bushes and found my foot hitting damp rock. Urging myself not to look down, I put my other foot onto the ledge.

“How… How long was this hidden?” Suna gasped, getting her bearings as Jiro shuffled along the ledge, “it’s completely untouched!” Jiro cackled giddily as Suna shuffled nervously next to him. 

“Humans never found Jiro’s home! Jiro lives with the bite-beasts and the stick-head horses!” I snorted at that. Did he really not know the names of goats and deer? I noticed Suna giving me a look, and I softly cleared my throat. 

“So… you live in this place?” I asked, “how did the war not touch it?” Jiro let out a staticy sigh and continued to move along the ledge. I looked back to see Kossori watching us from the bushes. Of course… she must be too heavy to traverse the rocks with us.

“Jiro was running from human savages,” his voice became softer… more nostalgic, “he was separated from his unit. There was nowhere for him to go. Everything was unfamiliar and dark. No little bite dogs or tree-rats. Smoke, and fires, _everywhere,_ ”

A chill ran down my spine when I heard what he said next.

“They cornered Jiro and put the death device to his head,” I stopped, “it tried to tear Jiro from his nexus. His family? It clouded his thoughts and…”

“...It tried to break you from the nexus…?” I asked quietly. Jiro hummed an affirmation, “Jiro’s thoughts are always clouded now. But he was saved! Do not be sad!”

Suna visibly perked up at this. 

“Someone saved you?” Jiro nodded vigorously.

“She was tall, and fast! Very blue. She had the symbol of the Scouts upon her shoulders… the blue lady killed the humans so Jiro could run!” he grabbed onto a few strong-looking vines and handed one to Suna, and then held one out to me. I held onto it tightly, looking at him with confusion.

“Blue… You mean…” I looked at Suna. She had the same idea, judging by her expression.

“CAL,” we said near-simultaneously. Jiro looked at us with wild confusion.

“You know the blue lady? Jiro thought she was gone!” he smiled joyously, and shoved another vine into Suna’s unexpecting hands, “The Aki gets around! Friends with humans, and then friends with Scouts! He is impressed.”

“Ha… Ha…” I coughed awkwardly and looked at the vine that Jiro handed me, “so… what are we supposed to do with these?” 

Jiro blinked and said simply;

“Swing.”

“Wait, what?” Suna spoke up, tightening her grip on her vine visibly, “like, what they do in adventure movies?”

Oooh, that sounded cool…

“What is ‘movie’?” Jiro squinted his eyes, a confused and questioning expression on his features. Suna chuckled awkwardly and sighed.

“Erm, nevermind… let’s…” Suna’s voice trailed off as I looked across the vast cavern, excitement swelling in my chest. This trip couldn’t be all that bad if I got to swing from vines! Well, it was still pretty awful… but moments like this made it worth it! Probably! If I didn’t, uh, fall!

Assessing the length and width of the vine, I coiled a bit of the center around my undamaged palm. I mean, that’s what they did in movies? It had to have been an effective tactic if it worked for _them_ … probably. 

“...What do you think? Aki?” Suna’s voice faded in as I prepared to press my weight against the vine to test its strength. In hindsight, that was probably a bad idea. As I did, the vine slipped on the damp rock. My core dropped into my stomach as I felt myself falling forward. All I could think to do in that moment was cling for darn life to that vine.

“Aki!” Suna exclaimed. I saw her reach out to try and grab me, but Jiro held her back.

“No, child!” he hissed robotically. That was the last thing I heard before… I screamed at the top of my lungs, over even the wind that blew past my ears. I shut my eyes tight, not wanting to watch the entire chasm fly before me and make me any dizzier than I already was… 

It felt like an eternity. Hell, my entire life flashed before my eyes… until I smacked roughly into what _felt_ like wet rocks. I fell onto the considerably wider ledge beneath said rocks, noticing just a bit the soreness in my back. My core pumped a million miles per hour as I forced myself to breathe artificially, if only to calm myself down. 

“Aki! Friend Aki!” Jiro’s voice rang from across the ravine. I couldn’t help but to look up. He and Suna were far away, but I could still see Jiro’s concerned expression and Suna’s mouth agape with shock. Kossori was still sitting on a larger rock formation nearby. She watched me curiously… I couldn’t help but smile at her. Jiro’s voice caught my attention yet again just a second later, “is Aki okay? Is he hurt?!”

I released a breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding, and laughed. A strange sense of overwhelming relief, joy and euphoria washed over me, a strange sense of warmth spreading over my damp body. It took me a moment, but I called back despite my odd elation.

“I’m fine!” my arms shook a bit as I pushed myself into a sitting position. That was… incredibly terrifying… but the sense of exhilaration told me I had been scared in a good way. It was… _fun!_ I smiled to myself and looked around my environment. A large ledge. The rocks were… well, wet and covered with lichen and moss, like literally every other rock in the area. But a strange arrangement caught my eye. I stood to my feet slowly, making sure I was no longer dizzy, and approached. 

Upon further inspection, the ‘odd arrangement’ was in fact a narrow entrance into some sort of a cave. Huh, cool. I looked back at Jiro and Suna, who were preparing to swing from a vine that extended from the canopy far above. And not a moment too soon, Suna called down.

“Aki! We’re coming!” she paused and continued, “despite any objections I may have ma--” her last word trailed into a scream as Jiro pushed off of the narrow rock ledge, with a little help from Kossori. It was only a few moments before Jiro’s limber legs faced towards the rockface and his metallic feet slammed against it. Suna was pathetically hugging Jiro, even a few seconds after he lowered from the vine and onto the rock ledge. It was kind of funny.. But not in a good way. 

Ever since Silicon City, Suna struggled with anxiety and panic… I had to be a little nicer. Her being scared wasn’t something to tease about. Not anymore. It wasn’t funny to see my sister afraid like that. It really shouldn’t have even been mildly amusing.

“Ehm… human child,” Jiro patted Suna’s head awkwardly, “Jiro is done swinging. You will stop clinging to him, yes?” Suna jumped away from him suddenly, clearing her throat and adjusting her purple hoodie.

“Uh, yeah,” she said quietly, crossing her arms tightly. I was about to speak up to talk to her, but Jiro rushed towards the odd formation of rocks, knocking me to the side a bit as he did. Shrugging, I looked back at Kossori. 

Her purple eyes scanned the ledge. I could feel her hesitance in the back of my head… 

_“Come on, girl,”_ I urged over the nexus. That was all she seemed to need. Her robotic form was suddenly barreling for the ledge Suna, Jiro and I had been standing on.

Oh.

“Get out of the way!” I cried. Suna and Jiro perked up, and moved away, just in time for Kossori to slam into the ledge with a deep metallic clang. Before I knew it, Kossori was sniffing me all over, her large head nudging me. Mild concern was communicated over the nexus, “w-woah-- Hey, I’m fine! See? No scratches!” Kossori, though she stopped sniffing me, looked at me with incredulous eyes, “erm, no scratches in the past five or ten minutes?” I tried. Kossori seemed satisfied with the implications of my tone and presence in the nexus, and backed off. 

“Ah-hah!” Jiro’s crazed trill brought me back to the task at hand; getting supplies, “here. The passage is open for Jiro and his friends!” he gestures at a now slightly-more-open cave. I raise a brow and stand on my feet.

“That’s pretty small..” I commented, glancing at Kossori, “will Kossori fit through it…?” Jiro nodded, and patted the rocks.

“There is no concern, friend Aki,” he smiled widely and jumped on his feet, “Jiro knows Aki’s beast friend can fit inside! Come, come! Jiro and his friends are almost there!” Jiro then slipped inside, his giddy laughter echoing from within. Suna sighed and looked at me nervously.

“Are you sure we can _actually_ trust him? He could be leading us into a trap…” she started, “plus, he’s a little _busted in the brain-pain_.”

“Relax, Suna,” I shrugged, a relaxed smile forming on my face, “I have my buster back! If he tries anything, I’ll handle it,” to punctuate, I willed my signature mega-buster to materialize, and then de-materialize in a matter of seconds. Though she didn’t appear convinced, she smiled tiredly regardless.   
  
Ah, well… 

Me and Suna slipped through the formation, Kossori following closely behind. It was a bit of a tight fit, but she didn’t seem to have much trouble slipping through the cave.

_‘Forward and onward…’_ I thought to myself as the light from the outside faded.

***

Damp, wet and cold. I shouldn’t have expected any less from the inner workings of a glade such as that, but it didn’t make it any less uncomfortable.

Suna and I had been asking periodically when we’d get to the signal’s origin, but Jiro was always incredibly vague. Honestly? I was getting a bit unsettled at this point, too. It had been ages since we entered this cave, and we needed to be back by sunset!

As soon as I opened my mouth to say it was time to head back, Jiro shouted and stopped abruptly. I bumped into him, Suna bumped into me and Kossori was the cherry on top. Jiro lurched forward, into a dark but significantly more open section of the passage. I nearly fell over with him, but I was able to stabilize myself. I awkwardly pressed forward, my sight adjusting slightly. 

“It’s… pretty dark in here,” as I spoke, my voice echoed strangely. Yep, definitely bigger, “are you sure this is the right place?” though my enhanced sight was activated, I still couldn’t make out more than grainy, faint outlines. Ugh!

“Jiro is sure, yes!” I heard rocks shift and the soft squelching of moss. And then, in the blink of an eye, the area lit up with neon colors. Some gentle, some demanding to be seen. The moss along the walls progressively lit up with a broad range of blues and greens, and along with it alien ferns and flora. The different ferns, grasses and even fungi that lined the damp rocky walls radiated a whole host of colors from rich purples to vivid greens. Even the dust in the air lit up like thousands of tiny fireflies, floating on the little breeze that passed through the cave. The entire area was almost like a light show. I’d never seen anything like it! It was… beautiful. It gave me a sense of wonder I hadn’t felt in months. 

I looked down at the ground I was standing on. The moss I’d been standing on shimmered even brighter than the rest. It seemed to pulse brighter when I shifted my weight… I kneeled down, and put my hand on the luminescent moss. Sure enough, its light intensified. A smile cracked on my face despite any doubts I may have had at that moment. Of all the things I saw today… a robotic cat, a stunning water ravine… this luminous cave had to be the most impossibly magical to me. After all these years… this landscape had been hidden from humanity. It was a miracle. 

My eyes darted towards the sound of pounding and galloping. My alarm quickly faded into amusement. Kossori was galloping around in the moss and ferns, biting at the glowing dust floating around the cave like a dog chases its tail. I could sense her playful energy in the back of my skull. It was inviting me to join her, but I shook my head.

“Sorry, girl. We’ve got a job to do,” I glanced at Suna, who was examining the plants on the other side of the cave. I quickly looked back at Kossori, “should probably get to those supplies before sunset.”

Kossori visibly deflated, but the contentment was not entirely lost. She approached me dutifully following me as I started towards a patiently waiting Jiro.

“It is magical,” Jiro began once I was within earshot, “this cave. When Jiro first found it, he was lost and very hurt…” he closed his metallic eyes. For just a moment, he seemed focused, “but he saw the pretty lights. It was just like his nexus. His…” he trailed off for a moment, “...the Aki calls it family. _You_ call it family.” 

“I’m… sorry about what happened to you,” I looked at him, sincerity in my tone, “it’s lonely out here. CAL… she was lost and broken, too,” Jiro seemed to focus on me, an odd clarity in his gaze, “but… I gave her a chance to have a new family. Maybe you’d like that chance, too?”

“...Jiro… Jiro would like that very much, friend Aki,” Jiro’s face had fallen, but slowly broke into a small smile after a few moments. Just as soon as it came, his face fell again, “but Jiro has spent too much time in this place. He cannot come with you…” I deflated slightly. That.. was understandable. But it didn’t mean it was any less disappointing. He was a good ‘bot. Just a little scattered… and _that_ was the United Ones’ fault. 

I was about to continue speaking, when Jiro perked back up, “but Jiro… He sees you are a fighting spirit. You have a purpose, friend Aki,” Jiro’s smile got just a little wider, “Jiro will stay at his home. But when friend Aki needs him… he will come to fight with his friend.”

“Thank you, Jiro…” I couldn’t help but exhale with relief. I suppose I should have invited him to the nexus? But… how did I do that before? I didn’t want to _shock_ him or anything… I’d have to figure that out myself. I closed my eyes and focused on that feeling. The feeling that was embedded deep in my mind, that trailed through every neuron, every atom in my being. The instinct. The connection. The nexus.

There it was. I could feel CAL and Kossori, their presence strong and in sync in a sea of blue. Digitized. Visualized. It was so much more than just a view when I closed my eyes... But beyond the nexus, I could sense it. Two signals. Two vibrations. One, scattered, unfocused and incomplete. It was closer, as if it were right next to me... Another, sending blank transmissions. A radio. I figured the former had been my target. As I probed the unfocused buzzing, it probed back. Jiro was there. He acknowledged me. Before I knew it, a kaleidoscope of colors filled my vision. Just like with CAL, my senses were scrambled. It didn’t seem to last as long this time... I couldn’t tell if I fell over, or if I was still standing. 

Jiro was there, and the final connection had been made. His unfocused buzz slowly matched the same frequency as my nexus, and like CAL, had become synced. He had not joined the nexus, but had become a part of it in an abstract manner I could scarce describe. I shook my head, my vision clearing. I had lost my balance, and was leaning against Kossori. Jiro had seemed relatively out of it as well, but quickly recovered like I had.

“Aki?” Suna spoke up, looking back at me from a few ferns, “you look kind of pale… are you okay?” 

“I’m fine…” I rubbed the back of my head, and stood to my own feet once again, “I just connected Jiro to the nexus, s’all.”

That seemed to alarm her.

“What? How?” she walked over, scanning me with those concerned eyes. Jeez... “did you shock him?”

“N-Nah,” I sighed. Not the time. We needed to head back before nightfall, “I’ll tell you about it later, when we get back.”

She furrowed her brows, but seemed to relent. Whew.

“ _Alright._ Fine. Jiro, can you show us the supplies?” she turned to Jiro, who had been looking over himself. He seemed more… focused.

“Yes. He can. Follow him!” he pointed behind him. Another small entrance. _Fantastic,_ “it is only a short distance. It is in a room!” Jiro added, possibly sensing some degree of distaste through his newfound connection with my nexus. He slid a worn hand along the wall, probably feeling for a button? Or some sort of imperfection? I didn’t really know; everything about Jiro was… unique. Though he was a part of that weird feeling, he was still guarded. It made me wonder… what was going through his head?

Then again, I could barely understand what was going through my own. Digital hive-minds. Giant war machine spiders with lasers. My Dad is _actually_ my Dad. My estranged brother is _actually_ my brother. Literally on-fire robot ladies with anger issues. Everyone else was probably dead. I’m actually a hybrid created to kill for a defunct dead nation.

Nothing weird about that. Nah, just another Tuesday at that point.

So why was I so affected by it…?

“Aki, come on,” Suna broke me out of yet another bout of deep thought. I looked up, startled. Oh. Right. The uh. Supplies. I nodded, walking up to Suna and sheepishly squeezing through the tight passage to the radio signal that Jiro opened up… no doubt while I was moping. As I worked my way through the considerably more tight hole, I received a ping from Kossori. It was… weird. It wasn’t English, or even positronic data packets. It was more like an understanding deeper than any sort of verbal language one could speak. 

Rough understandings aside, she’d be waiting outside of the passage; she was just too big this time. No biggie; she could keep watch if anything happened while we got what we needed.

I sighed and shuffled along with Suna and Jiro.. for a few dozen seconds. It really _wasn’t_ that far. Before I could even really complain, Jiro squawked. It echoed, if just a bit, telling me that we were walking into a larger area. 

“Here we are,” Jiro’s voice raised in pitch oddly as he spoke. He seemed to be looking for something… I really hoped it was a light.

_Click!_

As if a prayer had been answered in full, light was cast across the room. Odd lights, similar to holiday strings, were webbed all across the upper section of the small cave. They weren’t as bright as any fluorescent bars, but definitely showed the whole scope of the area… Curious how these lights could be powered in a secluded cave, I followed the strings of worn cords to a couple large boxes with worn labels and slightly rusted corners. They must have been old Hard Age era power generators…

“Wow... “ Suna’s voice, once again, brought me back to the present. She was examining the pile of supplies, ranging from tech to old food cans and energy cables, “all of this… it’s ancient! And these…!” I saw Suna pick up a pair of very dirty old earbuds, “these must be like the ones back home! But with wires…” that part seemed to confuse her. However, before I could respond, Jiro slipped into my vision.

“Jiro has just the thing for the Aki,” he then held up two old canvas bags in his worn hands, “he found these in an old human ruin! They are very dry, he promises you! Perfect for carrying goods and thingies!”

“Thanks, Jiro,” I couldn’t help but still smile in amusement at his manner of speech. Judging by the Nexus… he was happy to have us around, “we’ll pack up. Are you sure we can take some of your stuff, man?” despite going through so much trouble to get here… Jiro had been more than kind. Aside from stabbing me, I mean. And we did come here for supplies… but, wasn’t it always good to double-check?

“Of course! You have… given Ji-- me a family, friend-Aki,” Jiro seemed to get a bit choked up there. I almost moved to comfort him, “Jiro thinks you can take all Aki needs to save his home. You no bad robot, he sees. Go save your home,” Jiro punctuated the statement with a hand on my shoulder, “he is also sorry for the stabbing and the bad talk.”

“Aki!” Suna called over to me. I perked up, looking over at her. She was still digging in the pile, but judging by her tone… she found something. I nodded at Jiro and slipped over to my sister, hoping it wasn’t some weird nerd thing. As I looked over, I realized I didn’t need any special nerdiness to know what she called me over for.

“That’s…” I breathed. Before my eyes, albeit incredibly dusty and worn, was the exact same symbol I saw on that woman. It didn’t look like it was a part of her… it was an old blue shoulder plate, after all… But the very implication that this was connected to her in any way made my figurative stomach churn.. Five inverted tear-drop petals, one larger, surrounding a nondescript orb in the center, black as ash and charcoal.

“It’s her marking…” Suna gasped, and dropped the shoulder plate as quickly as she seemed to realize. I stumbled back a bit, instinctually gripping my uncovered arm tight enough to make the artificial nerves and veins glow brightly. My core was _racing_. 

_‘It’s her’s. Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.’_

Burning flames, hot as hellfire, licked around in my fuzzy vision. 

_The woman grabbed my arm before I could run, the intense heat instantly melting away my armor, along with the vital chips and functions inside of it. I opened my mouth to scream, but she let me go. I choked out a cry, wanting to hold my now-exposed arm frame but unable to. The pain was so intense that I couldn’t see straight. I just screamed. I couldn’t hear Mini over it. Any of it. The roaring fire, the energy racing through my head, or my own agonized cries._

_I eventually got the mind to look around behind me. That same woman…_

_She seemed to know I was staring._

_As she turned around in the torrent of roaring flames, the most obvious traits was her lanky, emaciated body, the symbol in the center of her chestplate… and those glowing green eyes, as sharp as a viper’s, but full of_ **_hate_ ** _…_

_I felt a strong arm around me. But I was too frozen to care._

_She smiled at me sickeningly, bulging eyes narrowing._

_I felt more vulnerable than I ever had in my life._

_“Calm down, kid,” Mini’s voice was desperate. Even I could tell that he wasn’t sure what to do, “I’ll get started on repairs. Just close your eyes, Aki.”_

_“Aki, don’t look at her. Don’t. Just sleep, kid. You’re going to be okay. Your Pops has you.”_

I jolted back at the feeling of someone _actually_ touching me. 

“Aki. Aki, here,” Suna’s voice. I knew that voice. The owner of that voice was holding my hand. The metal one. The one I lost, “Aki. Look at me. It isn’t her. It’s just a shoulder guard, bro-bot. You’re safe.”

I closed my eyes shut, trying to stop seeing the fire. 

Like a fresh sip of an E-can, someone reached out to me. Before my eyes, the flames were replaced with an ocean of bright sky blue particles, each one instantly recognized as a neuron. A particular bundle swirled towards my presence, surrounding me. The signature was CAL’s.

Another bundle raced towards me, zig-zagging wildly, but with a clearly benign intent. The calming sense that radiated from the small Nexus was enough to at least regular my core speed.

The ocean of flowing and swaying particles might have had something to do with that as well. Partially because I was a great majority of those little neuron-stars, and partially because my Nexus as a collective wasn’t giving me much choice.

I sat there for what felt like hours, but in reality was only a minute or two, before only slight traces of fear remained. 

It wasn’t that big of a deal. I was always a little afraid of barbeque-lady, anyways.

The comforting presence of CAL and Jiro disappeared, though not entirely. I still felt them there.. It just wasn’t… obvious?

Words were hard when it came to this whole bee colony brain.

When I opened my eyes again, Suna was sitting next to me, while Jiro was glancing at me every so often while sorting through his impressive trash collection.

“Are you okay?” Suna said sympathetically. I sighed and nodded, trying to stand on my feet. Suna stood with me, not objecting to my sudden movements, despite the obvious look in her eyes that she _really didn’t want me to._ She was probably worried about my balance, or something like that.

“W-We should pack up,” I rubbed my forehead and walked over to one of the two canvas bags that Jiro had given us.

“Aki. I’m sorry, I had no idea--”

“S’not a big deal,” I shrugged it off, despite the fact the shudder in my voice wasn’t going to fool my sister at all, “seriously. I’ll get over it…”

“I hate to keep saying it, ro-bro, but you need to talk with Dad--” Suna began. I cut her off quickly. 

“No. I’m not talking with Dad about this anymore than I already have,” I didn’t mean to snap, but my tone was certainly cold. I _really_ didn’t want to talk with him until I fully processed what I was. 

Having your identity and the circumstances of your existence flipped onto its head and then beaten to a pulp with an oversized piñata stick that’s on fire wasn’t really something you could process in just a few days time.

Suna tried to understand. She couldn’t; not entirely. But she definitely tried. And that meant a lot! I at least hoped she’d understand a bit more after I told her about the lab that night. Her emotional support was helping me a lot, all things considered. CAL being understanding and teaching me more about what I am helped too!

But sometimes… I felt like I needed to do things _my way._

Either way… we needed to pack. It was almost sunset, and time hadn’t stopped so I could have my little breakdown. I sent a quick data ping to CAL as I shoved whatever looked important into my designated duffel bag. I received a quick response back. Everything had been fine on her and Dad’s end, but her ping was urgent enough that I sped up my bag-stuffing to a more rushed pace.

I eventually heard a metallic clink on the rock below, and I stared down at the same shoulder plate that Suna had shown me. My core skipped a beat, but the magnitude of alarm I felt was much lower than just several minutes ago. I swallowed my remaining fear and picked up the plate with my undamaged arm, looking over it before frowning in defiance and shoving it into the canvas bag with everything else I thought would be useful. Though, a discarded piece of armor wasn’t as save-someone’s-life-ish as old canned foods, energy cells and robot repair kits. Still… Maybe CAL could tell me something about it?

I sighed and looked up at the strange holiday lights above us.

Something felt wrong. I was going to get to the bottom of it. But, one thing at a time…

_‘Just got to get back to Dad and CAL, talk to Suna--’_

I heard a very animalistic sound similar to a bleat, before a very familiar goat shoved its face into mine and wiped its gross tongue all over my wounded cheek.

_‘--And try not to get eaten by a big dumb goat.’_

***

Riding on Kossori proved to be more difficult than it seemed. In hindsight, I probably should have known her back was _not_ made for unarmored butts.

Not only was the experience rough, but it was uncomfortable. Her armor spines digging into anything and everything I had put on that I could feel wasn’t pleasant. My jeans weren’t cut up, but it still felt like one of those old bull-riding games… with dull knives for a saddle. 

We couldn’t have made it back in time on-foot with all of these supplies, so Jiro suggested that Suna and I ride on Kossori… 

It seemed more fun _before_ I had to ride a robot cat bareback through a near-dark forest, with branches hitting my face every other _second._

With Suna _laughing_ at me.

“You are _actually_ horrible,” I muttered, very glad she couldn’t hear me over the wind blowing past our faces. Kossori was _really_ fast. Then again, she was made for speed. Despite her dutiful stamps as she sped across the forest, I could tell she was having about as much fun as Suna over the Nexus. 

I really hoped it was for a different reason than my face getting pelted by branches and low-hanging pinecones.

Just as I was getting used to my face being used as a pin-cushion for pine needles, Kossori stopped, _abruptly._ I yelped unceremoniously as I almost fell off of her back… keyword _almost._ Which apparently, still meant hanging off of her side in a very awkward position, face partially in the dirt. **Nice.**

“Aki?!” I recognized CAL’s voice instantly. And then a crude snort. And then laughter, “I can see you’re _very_ accustomed to riding a cyber beast. You’re simply a _natural_ ,” I rolled my eyes at the dripping sarcasm in her voice. Suna was still laughing like a hyena as she unloaded the two duffel bags.

“Oh, yeah. Laugh it up, you two. It’s not my fault she’s--” I let out an undignified grunt as I fully slid off of Kossori’s barrel. Face full of pine needles and dirt, I just let it go with a muffled sigh After a few seconds, CAL’s laughter ceased, and I was being helped up… Well. More like dragged up. Though her expression was still creased with a smile, her deep blue eyes still held some degree of curiosity and concern.

“I trust you didn’t get into more trouble than you can handle,” despite her tone and smile… her eyes drifted to the slightly worn bandaging on my body. Dad was going to have a field day with this, I was sure… “looks like your core’s still pumping, so it couldn’t have been _too_ bad?”

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. Wait until she heard about Jiro… Unless… she already did.

“I mean… it wasn’t entirely bad. We met a cool ‘bot on our way to the checkpoint,” I searched CAL’s features for any sign of surprise… No surprise was evident. I’d wager it was more-so relief that crossed her features, “he uh. Stabbed me. Twice,” I deadpanned. CAL’s vision noticeably glanced back at my damages. I waved my hands defensively, “but I’ll be fine! Suna patched me up and Dad can take a look if he wants?”

“Alright, _‘soldier’_ ,” CAL affectionately referred to me as that a few times in the past week or so. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, but it must have been from her past experiences in the Scout Nexus… yeah. That was where she used to be. With ‘Syndr’. Fighting the not-so-good fight against humanity.

And then something struck me.

As CAL was rambling on about the contents of my sister’s bountiful supply bag with said sister, my eyes drifted to her worn shoulder.

Upon her tan-colored covering, I spotted a faded symbol. Incredibly faint, but still noticeable in the closeby firelight.

Before I could fully process the realization, a heavy hand rested on my shoulder. I was instantly broken out of my distracted state as I turned my head to see my Dad looking at me, a mix of pride and relief in his eyes.

“Glad to have you back, Son,” his smile fell a bit. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately, “I should check your damages. Suna is a commendable medic and engineer, but I should check for any signs of continued leakage…”

**_“What’s the plan, child? Going to whine about events long past and unrepented for? You know he’s going to hurt more if you bring it up.”_ **

_“Shut up,”_ I signalled to the foreign presence. Kossori seemed to growl at nothing when it was intercepted. I didn’t care; I was ticked that this lady was still trying to get under my figurative skin, _“this is my family._ **_My_ ** _business. Stay out of it, and leave my head if you--”_

“Aki? Is everything alright? You seem troubled,” Dad was already pulling out remaining supplies when he noticed my probably-staring at nothing. I just shook my head and grumbled. Didn’t need to add “voices in my head” onto everything else.

“M’fine. Just tired,” I paused for an almost uncomfortable length of time, before I spoke up, “so… Project Warviper, huh? Sounds… p-pretty lame for a big secret government project,” I tried to start off with a joke. Which I failed miserably at, because my father stiffened up as soon as ‘Project’ and ‘Warviper’ were in the same sentence. Or mentioned at all. I could have shut up. Probably should have.

I didn’t.

“I… okay. So I know I avoided it super badly this morning but now that Suna isn’t starving and CAL won’t drop offline any second, it seems like a pretty good time to talk about the fact I’m _literally_ a biological impossibility?” I kept going. He was pretty quiet, but seemed to be listening. Still, something was urging me to shut my mouth, “and that’s kind of a big deal. And you’re my **only** parent. And you’re supposed to have all the answers. Except you didn’t--”

I stopped for a moment, gathering my thoughts before running off on another tangent.

“--You didn’t have any idea and you still probably don’t and I’m really confused about everything. Because _all my life_ I was told ‘hey son you’re a ROBOT and I BUILT YOU’ ”, I made a very awkward impression of my Dad as I just kept drowning him with my run-on speech about my day-old identity problems, “--and yeah you kind of made me twice but TECHNICALITIES ASIDE--”

“Son,” Dad spoke up, _finally_ , “I never wanted you to find out. As soon as I realized he was dead and gone, I wanted you to live separately from him,” his voice was low. He was hiding his emotions, as much as he could. Suddenly, I felt _really_ bad. Of course I was… he was… talking to me about it. His old kids, “my boys were dead the moment I altered the procedure. There was no going back…”

I hugged myself inwardly. Curiosity still outlasted any pain I felt, or confusion that plagued me.

“...What was he like?”

“What?” my father looked at me with his glossy eyes like he didn’t expect that exact question.

“Uh. Old-me…” Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. If he didn’t have to think about what he did… Maybe he could think back on better times.

Dad’s sad expression cracked into a sad smile as he began treating my damages. For a moment, it actually felt like an old story from when I was a newer ‘bot.

“He was brilliant. He was solving basic algebra by seven, and looking to become a scientist like me someday…” I held back a retort. Despite what I found… I had to remember. That wasn’t me. Maybe I had his brain… but I wasn’t him, “but he loved people. He loved everyone he met… He’d even sit down with people at those dismal military-run parks who were alone and talk with them before we had to leave, instead of playing with the other kids.”

“He sounds like he was cool…” I said quietly. Despite myself, I started analyzing myself. Empathy, science-smarts, helping people… I mean. I had two out of three of those? I already knew I should

My father chuckled.

“He was very cool…” his laughter died with his smile just moments later. He sighed, and pulled out an energy IV. My bandages had been removed with minimal effort and discomfort. As he inserted the needle into one of my stripped arm’s energy veins and elevated the energy-filled bag, he spoke again, “you’re a lot like him, Aki. I shouldn’t be surprised; he’s your neural template… impressions carry over, after all.”

“I know,” my voice cracked unintentionally, “I heard him,” my mind settled back in the lab. The dusty, unsettling lab. The echoes of distant memories, and my own childish weeping filled my head as I looked back on that day. Dad flinched slightly as I said that. I figured I should have elaborated, “I was… hearing. Seeing? Both. I… heard him talking in the lab,” my figurative stomach twisted as I remembered the little boy clueless to what was going to happen to him, “he was asking a lot of questions. Sometimes it felt like he was… talking to me? I don’t know. I was freaked out.”

“...That’s not unheard of. The other subjects could remember their past lives entirely when they escaped the facility. But you…” he glanced back at me, and then back at the elevated energy bag, “you never showed signs of recollection when I activated you. I never got the chance with your brother… I figured… my hypothesis was correct. They were dead and gone. The fact you’re recalling traces of his memory is…”

“Could it be the area?” I proposed, “maybe something about where I was…” suddenly, something clicked. I quickly dug into a jean pocket, careful not to jostle the IV too much as I pulled out the same locket that I’d located in the old city. It was just as jarring and familiar to look at as it was that day.

“That was his locket,” Dad seemed to perk up a bit at the sight, “he had a picture of all of us in there… I doubt its survived all these years, but… it’s a nice memory.”

“I know it. I mean… not like I know _my_ stuff,” I spoke as I thought, which might have been a bad idea, “something else knows it. It’s like those memories… they aren’t mine, but I still.. Know them? It’s confusing…”

“The vestiges of your template, perhaps,” Dad’s voice was shaking, as it had been this whole conversation. How did I just realize it? “Separate memories from a separate part of your mind. Remnants of him. I’m sure it’s not significant, son. But… if you recall anything else…” he looked at me with pleading eyes, “tell me.”

I knew he must have wanted to grasp onto any remaining traces of his dead kid. Some part of me was thinking he just wanted me around because my brain was the only part of him left… I nodded in response, at least owing him that. But my dejected expression was something I couldn’t show him. I faced the ground as I thought hard on my own feelings.

All things considered, I was taking this whole situation fairly well. The crying part excluded. Crying sucked. I was pretty confused, but I wasn’t lashing out or… pulling my arm again. That was a good sign. Identity crisis and failing my role as a hero aside, I felt pretty okay. 

I still felt bad, though. Doubt was definitely abundant in my mind. And I thought, _‘Aki you’re being stupid; of course he loves you’_. Because he does. But… I still felt confused. My frown deepened as I thought on this.

“Aki,” my father murmured, “you’re not him. And I love you for who you are. Not because I have to, but because I’m your father. And regardless if you were conceived or built, or the product of a time long passed, I love you, and am so proud of you,” was he reading me now? Or was I just that obvious and predictable? Either way it… it felt good to hear it. That I wasn’t just a replacement. That he actually did care. The doubts were mostly snuffed out. All but one.

“Your IV is emptied already,” Dad remarked as he looked over the now-depleted energy bag, “you must have been drained after today.”

“I didn’t notice,” I shrugged, “was too busy getting stabbed, I guess,” I tried yet again to inject humor into the conversation. This time, Dad smiled a bit.

“Well, try not to in the future. These supplies are a fantastic boost to our journey, but we’ll need to preserve them so they’ll make it to Portland.”

That sparked my curiosity.

“Portland? Isn’t that a ghost town?” It was common knowledge that the significant remnants of both humans and robots remained in Silicon Valley since the Hard Age, aside from some smaller settlements in other continents and camps across North America. Satellite imagery had scanned a lot of once-large cities predating even the Hard Age, and very little remained, possibly from whatever catastrophe happened before the United Ones. It was lonely, but the least of my worries after all that happened.

“Mostly, yes,” Dad put away the supplies he’d taken out and resumed speaking, “it was a highly radioactive zone a long time ago, before even my time. All that remains there to my knowledge are war machines, like the ones we saw at that old military settlement. The radiation levels should be low enough for Suna and I to traverse, but we should still take precautions… We won’t arrive for another week, at most. We don’t need to worry about that now.”

“You said war machines,” I pointed out, undeniably concerned about that particular detail, “I don’t think I can take another one down, let alone more, with my arm again,” though one would think I was avoiding it, I really didn’t think I could handle another one of those guys. It was fun, but zapping things took too much out of me… If I wasn’t careful, we’d have another repeat, back when I fell into the caverns below the lab. 

Not to mention, I was pretty done with reliving memories that weren’t my own. Zapping other robots had unforeseen consequences, at least when it came to my arm, usually pertaining to my Nexus. Thinking back on it, there was only one instance I could intentionally do anything with my Nexus… when I inducted Jiro. Even then, it took a lot out of me, and we were both a bit dizzy… maybe I did it wrong? I could still feel his presence, just like CAL’s.

“You won’t need to. We’ll stay under cover as much as possible, and avoid them. We don’t need to worry about it, especially you,” Dad smiled and patted my shoulder, “go spend some time with your sister and friend, okay? We’ll set out again in the morning.”

“Y-Yeah,” I rubbed my face and got up, somewhat unadjusted to the influx of energy in my system. 

_‘Huh. Guess I_ **_was_ ** _low on juice.’_

“Aki!” Suna waved me over. She had the shoulder plate in hand, which was one of the first things I noticed. Also, the eager look on her face. Oh boy. I walked over, wondering why she had that creepy thing with her, let alone being _excited_ about it. As soon as I got within range, she pulled me into the tent and flopped onto her bedroll. 

“Okay, what’s up?” I crossed my arms, eyeing the plate closely, “you seem pretty excited over a hunk of creepy metal.”

“Okay…” Suna raised a brow at me, “ _first_ of all, I’m an engineer. Of _course_ I’m excited over metal. But this isn’t the kind of thing where I’m commending the metalwork on this old thing,” she gestured the shoulder plate by shoving it in my general direction, “I spoke with CAL about this, to see if she knew anything.”

“Of course she does, “ I sighed and sat on my own bedroll, “I saw her arm back there. She has the same marking,” brushing a hand over my face, I continued, “she mentioned her old Nexus to me a few days ago, before I went inside of the old lab…”

“Of course!” Suna nodded affirmatively, “she mentioned she had an old Nexus, but I wasn’t sure what the exact details were! After hearing about Jiro’s experience with her…”

“...I wonder if it was really her, though,” I mused, mostly to myself. Something didn’t feel like it was truly that small of a world, “they might have had mass production models back then. Like we do now. When you’re fighting a war, it seems likely that you wouldn’t spend money on individuality…”

“As likely as that may be, we have no proof of that claim, and it’s beside the point,” Suna cleared her throat, “Aki, did she tell you anything about her old Nexus? It may be vitally important--”

“I saw it on that lady too,” I blurted out, “I wasn’t sure if you knew that, or if you even saw her. You were trying to get Rush out of there--”

“Aki--”

“And it’s on CAL’s shoulder. And that dumb piece of metal. And I’m not sure if I--” 

I stopped talking, my brows furrowing before my mind finally told me what I really didn’t want to think about.

Dammit. I hated connecting dots like this.

CAL had the symbol on her cover.

The shoulder plate had the symbol.

That woman had the symbol on her chest.

“Suna,” my voice was still and serious as I realized, “do you think that robot… was Syndr?”

“Who now?” Suna raised a brow. I shook my head and groaned. Of course, I forgot the point of her question.

“Syndr… CAL told me… she was the Superior Master of the Scouts Nexus. Apparently hated humans with a literal burning passion?” I almost stood up in excitement, and not the good kind, “that woman had that symbol. She burned things,” I subconsciously lifted my arm into clear view.

“That’s quite the association, Aki,” Suna was a little quieter, “did you ever get a visual description on this ‘Syndr’ lady?”

“No. But, it’s so obvious, isn’t it?”

“We can’t make assumptions off of this, Aki. It’s serious,” Suna huffed and looked back down at the shoulder plate in deep thought, “but… speaking of the lab…”

I internally groaned and nodded.

“Right… I need to tell you what I saw,” I inhaled sharply as I realized that it was actually happening. She was… going to know. I kept myself relatively calm as I ask her the most important question on my mind, “just… promise you won’t hate me, Suna.”

“What?” she looked up at me, confusion very evident in both her gaze and tone.

“Promise me,” I reiterated. It was probably so stupid to ask, but… I needed that security. I wasn’t even sure if I liked myself after learning about it, after all.

“Aki, you’re my little brother. Nothing in the world could make me hate you…” she shook her head and shuffled closer to hug me. Once she embraced me, she sighed, “I don’t know what’s got you thinking I could _ever_ hate a dork like you, but we’re going to work through it together,” Suna pulled back and looked me in the eyes, and I was absolutely sure then. She needed to know. She _deserved_ to know.

“...Okay…” I took a very deep breath, “it started with me and CAL in that manhole… We found a building, underground…”

I told her. Everything. I didn’t omit many details. All of the gruesome things I’d seen. The strange locket. The memories. The papers I read. The dread in the pit of my figurative stomach. Everything down to the old rancid odor in the containment floor. The war. The project. The voice. Our brother. ...About the Sergeant.

By the time I finished the tale, Suna’s face was a mix of horror, anger, shock and disgust. It was… quite the display. But after a moment, instead of saying anything, or crying or yelling at me, she just… hugged me. She hugged me tightly, whispering all sorts of things about how it wasn’t my fault. That it was okay. That she didn’t hate me. That she didn’t hate anyone but the United Ones and Sergeant Night for ever putting me through that. That I was always going to be her brother, no matter what.

I finally just cried. Not out of rage, or emotional overstimulation. Just… cried. I just needed to do that. I needed to, for so long. Not in anger or panic. But in a healthy, constructive way.

And I had that, as me and my sister hugged one another, sharing in our pain and understanding it without needing to say another word. Not even the Nexus invaded on those few minutes of just... emotion.

Acceptance. Forgiveness. That’s what I’d been wishing for, this whole time. Forgiveness for failing the city and my family. And then, acceptance for my unusual creation and abilities.

I realized how stupid I’d been. Thinking that my sister would ever hate me for something outside of my control. Even if somewhere inside, I _knew_ I was being dumb… it felt nice, being absolutely certain of that. And Dad didn’t hate me either… I was still coming to terms about what he did, and how the war had really gone outside of the history books… but he didn’t hate me. He had told me he loved me and was proud of me. That we would fix this together, as a family.

I didn’t hate them either. Dad, most of all… I forgave him. I was confused, sure… but I know I didn’t hate him. He was my Dad! And… he may have lied to me. But he did that a lot. I was okay with it at that point.

Not really. But I was trying to be, anyways.

That would have to be enough for now.

Suna finally pulled away from me, wiping her eyes and sighing.

“We should sleep. We have a long way to go tomorrow,” she sniffled and shuffled over to her bed roll, setting down the shoulder plate and shutting off the flashlight that had been illuminating the tent moments before, “night, Ro-bro.”

I looked down at my arm, and didn’t feel as much disgust. In fact, I felt pretty okay. Not just… good. I felt great. Today was a great day.

I smiled.

“G’night, Suna.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No idea when the next chapter will be out. I'll start working right away, of course. But I'm not going to give you false hope for an ETA again. I let everyone down with this unexpected hiatus, and I won't lie when I say I feel guilty for making you all wait so long. I'll work when I can; Northward will not die. In fact, I have a couple of sequels in mind once this story reaches its finale in an eternity.
> 
> Thank you for reading.


	14. Special Chapter 1: Clouds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (First Special Chapter! Step into the POV of other characters from the Northwardverse between plot-relevant chapters!)
> 
> It was widely believed our favorite tiny mechanic was dead... but... is that really true?  
> Take a look at this short chapter focusing on the thoughts and feelings of Mini, and how they seem to be connected to Aki's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I had this big idea about a week ago. I thought, "What if we had specials?". I'm not sure how this will be received by the audience, but I thought having little 'breaks' every so often with new specials that aren't entirely related to the story but still within the Northwardverse would be fun. They won't be as long as regular chapters, but will still provide insight into different points of view with different characters.  
> It may also allow for me to still produce content, even when I'm unable to write an entire chapter. I'm posting THIS special in the main story, but let me know if you think I should have a separate story on my profile for all of the other specials or not!

Mega Mini didn’t know how long he’d been sitting in blank indifference. He hadn’t really felt or thought much of anything, as everything he experienced was not his own mental influence. Everything belonged to her. He was simply standing, staring ahead as he guarded a particularly under-stocked supply room.

Indeed, he meant very little to his Mistress. He was simply a tool. And once he was of no use to his Superior Mistress, he was told to guard a now-useless section of a particularly familiar building. The Light-house was his permanent charge, until he eventually broke down and rusted away.

Mini, disturbingly enough, found himself quite content with that. As long as he served, he would be happy.

So he sat there, the cycles of day and night passing without a care for nearly a week. He was not cold, or warm. He was not sad, or worried as something told him he should have been. He simply was an extension of a vast and brilliant consciousness—

**Something is wrong.**

**He’s in danger.**

_Who?_

Despite his ironically robotic stance having been stone-still for six long days, Mini flinched as if he’d been struck in the gut. Something temporarily buzzed in the back of his head, before…

_**An explosion of every color, from ultraviolet to gamma in his mind. Infurling. Spreading. Like an eagle's wings as it prepared to take flight.** _

Without any further warning Mini fell to his knees, and after what felt like perhaps a few hours, _for just a split second…_

**_ [>Locking onto external core.] _ **

**_ [>External core accessed manually.] _ **

**_ [>Transferring Nexus data to external core. . .] _ **

_What?_

_ **[ >Manual connection successful. Mind-scape active.]** _

…

**_ [>Connection established: SNS-CAL-97 & P-WARVIPER-007-LIGHT-KIT(2).] _ **

_…_

_…_

_…_

_…Kiddo?_

_Is that you?_

_…_

_I can hear ya._

_Don’t… worry._

_I’m—_

_Here._

_…_

_…_

_. . ._

_Get…_

_GET OUTTA MY HEAD!_

_“Mini! Mini, no! MINI!”_

_“Don’t worry, chief. You’ll do… just fine.”_

_“MINI!”_

_…_

_“M’sorry… I can’t—”_

_“M’sorry… sorry… love ya, kid.”_

_“MINI! DON’T!”  
_

_**Don’t you hear his screams?** _

_I don’t want to._

_**Eat what the pot serves, cockroach.** _

_No._

_**You were so obedient just yesterday…** _

_Shut up._

_**Is that any way to talk to your Superior Mistress?** _

_You ain’t my Mistress._

_**You belong to me always, since the moment you ripped apart that brat’s circuits.** _

_That wasn’t me._

_**But you aren’t you. Not anymore.** _

_That ain’t for you to decide now is it?_

…

** _[ >Remote connection established with server.]_ **

** _[ >Downloading unit protection protocol data. . .]_ **

** _[ >Download complete. Initializing admin command. . .]_ **

** _[ >Shutdown sequence prepared. Restoring firmware data to default state. . .]_ **

…

…

…

“Sorry kid,” Mini’s servos shuddered as he took a few steps from the broken doors of the lab. He wanted to see… the sky. Yeah. The sky was nice. Mini liked watching clouds sometimes on break between repairs on that rascal of a kid.

There were plenty of clouds out.

Peering through the broken window, Mini felt his programs shutting down one by one. Each capability slowly coming to a stop in preparation for what could quite possibly kill him.

Soon, even the sound of the wind outside and the crunching of broken glass below his metallic shoes were just… static. Even then, it faded quickly.

Mini slowly blinked his damaged eye LEDs as rain began to pour outside of the Light-house. He wished he could feel the cool droplets hitting his face.

He was sad, yeah. But it was the only way.

Amused, Mini thought that even the sky was sad to see him go…

“Ah… well…” Mini’s visual sensors shut off, “ain’t this a shame…”

He smiled.

“…I’ll hold ‘er off’a your back, kiddo. You… do the rest…”

_ **[ >Restoring software data to default state. . .]** _

…

_ **[ >Memory banks wiped. Initiating system lock down mode. . .]** _

…

_ **[ >Please input PASSWORD to restore. . .]** _

…

_ **[ >Awaiting ADMIN PASSWORD INPUT. . .]** _


End file.
